Kontagent helps customers measure KPIs like virality, retention and the lifetime monetization of their users.

The page view is dying a slow, painful death.

Here at Kontagent, we are passionate about data. Actually, let me be more clear: We believe that companies that develop a deeper appreciation of their customer data, and what it means to the health and growth of their business, have a massive competitive advantage.

I’ll take it a step further.

Companies that choose to ignore customer data, and don’t optimize their businesses around (meaningful) customer data patterns will fail in today’s social economy.

Take a look at Zynga. It’s a case study that will be talked about long after their IPO. But, what actually makes this company successful? There are plenty of social games doing what is seemingly identical on the face of it. Behind the scenes, though, there are 50+ data scientists who are hyper-focused on customer data. Every pixel is scrutinized. Every player’s activity is considered. Every penny counts… until it adds up to hundreds of millions in revenue, spread across 200 million monthly active users!

And, Zynga isn’t the only impressive case study in social games. In fact, Zynga had some “right time, right place” luck on their side, as they were an early entrant into social Web, with very few competitors. Other, more recent social companies like Kixeye and Gaia (full disclosure: both are clients of ours) are excelling through heavy data mining, a tenacious attention to customer data and perpetual testing and optimization of their games. Customer data analysis is absolutely fundamental to their businesses, and creating a culture that is built on accessibility and fast iterations based on this data has been paramount to their success.

The social game industry’s approach to data processing, analysis and optimization is a prime example of the new-school approach to Web & social analytics. They view it as a science.

Now, back to the page view. The page view (and all its ancestral cousins like the unique visitor, the visits and the click-through rate, amongst others) was part of an old paradigm. It had its day. Companies were bought and sold on valuations based solely on these indicators. Good for them.

These days, companies that understand the value of measuring and optimizing their customer economics around metrics beyond CTRs, page views and initial conversions are winning. Social-based business like Zynga, Gilt Groupe and BeachMint are measuring KPIs like virality, retention and the lifetime monetization of their users. Aren’t these new-age metrics more aligned with the success or failure of your business?

And, just how important is a page view to your business anyway? Unless you are solely an advertising-supported business, who really cares (and even if you are, is that really the best predictor of success)? Maybe your boss cares, and I’m sure that’s important, but will increasing page views really move your business forward? Will increasing your unique visitors by 20% this year make you the leader in your space? What can you actually do with that data point?

Or, would taking a more scientific approach to analyzing and optimizing around your customer’s behavior allow you to scale even more efficiently?

If your business is social games, you have a huge head start. Massive, actually. Businesses like Gaia, Popcap, Ubisoft, Zynga and others live and die by their customer data. They are the new-school Web business. They focus on the details across an entire lifetime of their customers. They optimize on as many events as they can. They make their data a centerpiece of their business and make it as accessible as possible to all stakeholders. And, those who do it well are well on their way to becoming some of the largest and most successful companies in the new social economy.

If your business is not in social games, get ready. Look at what these guys are doing. It’s fascinating. And, it is perfectly applicable to your business. Websites have moved from simple brochure ware back in the 90’s to click-generating machines for the past decade. Moving forward, it is all about engagement and optimizing lifetime value. That all starts with understanding the indicators that lead to higher LTVs, and using customer data as a competitive advantage.

Zynga gets it. Popcap gets it too. Now, it’s time for all Web & mobile businesses to get it. Are you on board?

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About the author: Dan Kimball is Kontagent’s CMO and resident storyteller. His drive to make sense of complex concepts and solutions comes from his unique background in philosophy, quantitative research and brand marketing. You can contact Dan at: @dmkimball05.