Piano launches “Measurements”: everything you need to know
After several months of testing with its clients and partners, Piano has just launched a highly anticipated new feature: “Measurements.” Kevin Larvor, Lead Analytics at Converteo, and Florian Rieupet, Product Manager at Piano, share more insights during a “Cross Perspectives” discussion.
In a few words, what is “Measurements,” this new feature that Piano has just launched?
Florian Rieupet: It is a unique feature in the market that we have been working on for over a year. It allows the import of contextual data into Piano to complement the behavioral data traditionally measured by the tool.
Kevin Larvor: This aggregated data, associated with a specific time period, provides additional context to the data collected in the framework of a site-centric measurement. It helps illuminate and facilitate strategic decision-making.
This feature addresses the growing need for companies to gain a deeper understanding of user engagement with their site, particularly by correlating their performance with external elements. In summary, “Measurements” enables Piano users to make data-driven decisions that are put into perspective.
What data can now be imported into Piano?
Florian Rieupet: Until now, while most of the data collected by the Piano Activation suite of tools integrated well into our “event-based” data model, aggregated data did not. For example, when a client wanted to import the number of users with an active subscription from an external source, ingesting that data into Piano Analytics as events was inappropriate. The main benefit of Measurements is therefore the ability to easily integrate data that does not directly correspond to actions taken by visitors.
Kevin Larvor: There are numerous possibilities, such as importing data from other tools within the martech ecosystem (Google Ads Manager, Didomi, etc.), data from social media, CRM data, weather data, or even historical data from another analytics tool like GA4, as part of a migration. Integrating weather data, for example, is particularly interesting if the client’s business is likely to be influenced by weather conditions: this allows for the correlation of sales performance with external factors.
What are the main use cases you have identified?
Florian Rieupet: During the “Private Preview” phase, we observed nearly thirty examples of usage by clients!
The most common ones include SEO performance tracking, by pulling in performance data from the Google Search Console (for example, to identify underperforming URLs that generate higher conversion rates), importing data from other solutions like Google Analytics (to facilitate the migration to Piano Analytics while preserving historical trends), or adding data from podcast platforms like Spotify, iTunes, Deezer, or even video platforms like Netflix.
Kevin Larvor: Many things can indeed be imagined: in addition to standard projects, Piano allows for “custom” projects, where the user is free to configure their own use cases. For example, for retail and e-commerce players, in addition to correlating sales performance with weather data, it can also be interesting to integrate indicators like the evolution of the number of followers on Facebook or Instagram, which could be an explanatory factor for a rise in sales.
Thus, Piano’s “Measurements” also offers users a complementary option to centralize data that was previously accessible only via a data lake. This provides a way to have a unified view of their data directly within their site-centric tool.
With these data injections, how can one ensure compliance with GDPR?
Florian Rieupet: Measurements allow for the import of aggregated data, which, except in rare cases, does not correspond to personal data. This is one of its many advantages: we can provide a lot of value without complicating the already complex legal aspects of behavioral data collection.
Kevin Larvor: In any case, it is important to ensure that the data imported into Piano does not correspond to personal data or, if it does, that consent has been obtained before sending. The advantage of Measurements is that the user has full control over the data injected into the tool: it is therefore possible to verify in advance that all elements comply with the various regulations.
To conclude, how easy is it to use this feature?
Florian Rieupet: Measurements has been designed to be accessible to a wide range of users, allowing for independent use. Data sending is done via a dedicated API. Automating the data submissions may require more advanced technical skills from the client, including the implementation of scripts, but this is quite standard in the data field. Our partner agencies will also be well-equipped to assist clients with this type of implementation. Additionally, we are working on a number of native integrations for Measurements with partners (such as Adverity) so that ingestion can be done with just a few clicks.
Kevin Larvor: This solution enriches the current range of Piano Analytics modules, which includes Explorer, Data Query, and the recent deployment of Workspace. We will, of course, be ready to support clients who wish to be guided on this feature that we have the privilege of testing and that we fully endorse!
