Summary
While forward-thinking enterprises are deriving great value
from enterprise search, other companies are losing both customers and insight by disdaining it.
At a minimum, companies should move to Standard Practices; large online
retailers and media companies need to be at the Best Practices level.
| |
Worst Practices |
Standard
Practices |
Best Practices |
| Viewpoint |
"We don't need it." |
"It helps our
customers." |
"It lets us see
into our customers' minds." |
| Strategy |
Search is not necessary -- customers can navigate to what they want |
Search is a shortcut that helps customers find what they want; increases
cross-selling and up-selling |
Search is a customer-enterprise conversation; search analytics offer insight
into customer desires |
| Process |
Searches are not analyzed |
Searches analyzed infrequently |
Searches analyzed daily or weekly |
| People |
Searches are not analyzed |
Employee analyzes searches infrequently |
Content expert analyzes searches regularly |
| Technology |
No search box or a search hyperlink must be clicked; no search analytics
|
Search text box; multi-line results; rudimentary search analytics |
Search text box, sometimes integrated with navigation; search results are
categorized |
Enterprise Search: An Overview
Enterprise search is the second half of a two-part search application set.
Web search engines such as Google and MSN -- as well as ads delivered within
these search engines -- drive visitors to a specific Web site. Enterprise search
then takes over, helping visitors find information and products on that
corporate Web site.
Consequently, enterprise search differs from Web search in some ways.
- The search universe is smaller -- an enterprise search engine must
catalog thousands of products or documents, rather than billions of Web pages.
- The information can be better “tagged” -- because companies know
their product lines and information, they can add characterizing metadata that
makes it easier for the underlying search engine do its work: tagging a blouse
as the color “pink,” made of “cotton,” and a “size 6,” for example.
- Visitor characteristics are sometimes known -- perhaps the customer
has to sign in, or the employee must logon to use the corporate intranet. A
better understanding of both the content and the user can go a long way
towards making the search results relevant to the user.
Yet, both enterprise search and Web search have some things in common:
- Search is an explicit statement of customer desire -- when
customers enter a search term, they are declaring their interest -- they are
looking for something specific and want to jump to it, rather than click down
multiple levels to find it.
- Search highlights a customer’s vocabulary -- when a customer looks
for “notebook” on a computer retailer’s site -- and the vendor calls it only a
“laptop” -- it is a hint that the vendor might want to add the extra term.
Against this technological backdrop, companies have adopted a variety of
approaches to enterprise search: from making it a part of a comprehensive
content management and customer analytics strategy to not using it at all.
continued...
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