The human-managed dashboard that gives you the story
Dashboards on their own add little value and often just add to already heavy workloads; it’s the story behind the data and the actions that follow that make the difference.
4Front is a unique subscription service that blends automation and human insight to define the next generation of reporting. 4Front connects you to 200+ data sources with no configuration needed to give you board-ready reports and insights without the heavy lifting.
OUR DATA STORIES ARE USED BY SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL BRANDS
Some of the world’s best known e-commerce teams rely on data scientists who support 4Front to provide data analytics and insight to drive their performance.
Data that tells the story
4Front ensures leaders focus on the business, not the business of reporting
A human-managed data platform
Uniquely, using highly trained scientists, mathematicians and engineers, 4Front takes your data from any e-commerce source with a direct API (web analytics, advertising and social media platforms, customer review sites etc.) and feeds it into a single reporting platform.
Here, it is processed into trended data to show year-on year and week-on-week comparisons and presented in an easy-to-understand format that allows you to see the big picture or focus in on a specific period.
The development of the human race has been powered by story-telling. From the earliest civilizations where all ‘knowledge’ was transferred orally, story-telling traditions are rich in every ethnicity. Even in today’s digital world parents still read to their children, and later in life most people continue to value human interaction as the most impactful way of learning something new.
4Front is much more than a traditional visualisation...
Every picture, they say, tells a story and visualisation in data is critical in helping to illustrate and communicate, however pictures on their own don’t tell it all. 4Front’s data stories take raw data, paint the picture and then add the words that help make sense of what you see.
Narrative provides context, connection and insight. Great narratives don’t just describe what they see, they also add another dimension bringing depth or adding shade/light and in so doing provide the whole picture. They are also essentially human. As no machine can spot that which it hasn’t been programmed to identify, then every automated story is only as good as the person who programmed it.
4Front narratives come from experienced story-tellers who work across sectors and geographies. They look for the ‘white space’, for the disconnect, for the unobvious and the unusual. Knowing your context but not tied to your world view they can throw light, add shade and spot the nuance in the trend.
Every picture, they say, tells a story and visualisation in data is critical in helping to illustrate and communicate, however pictures on their own don’t tell it all. 4Front’s data stories take raw data, paint the picture and then add the words that help make sense of what you see.
Narrative provides context, connection and insight. Great narratives don’t just describe what they see, they also add another dimension bringing depth or adding shade/light and in so doing provide the whole picture. They are also essentially human. As no machine can spot that which it hasn’t been programmed to identify, then every automated story is only as good as the person who programmed it.
4Front narratives come from experienced story-tellers who work across sectors and geographies. They look for the ‘white space’, for the disconnect, for the unobvious and the unusual. Knowing your context but not tied to your world view they can throw light, add shade and spot the nuance in the trend.
Slow Data
In 2011, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman introduced the idea of two competing thinking systems each critical to human performance, yet each able to be applied at the wrong time such that for example when we need to look sceptically and hard at an issue, we make a quick judgement often based on a too superficial understanding.
Kahneman also introduced us to the tendency for business leaders to fall victim to the ‘planning fallacy’. As a result, we can be over-optimistic and make decisions based on this rather than on a rational weighting of gains, losses, and probabilities.
In e-commerce the ready availability of data can often prompt rapid and ultimately fruitless activity – with its consequent absorption of scare resources. The data seems empowering, and yet, un-analysed and seen out of context it may lead erroneous conclusions. Our work since 2011 has reinforced the importance of ensuring that in e-commerce there is a role for what we call ‘slow data’. This is data collected in at least monthly intervals that can be set in the context of trends over time.
After all, to quote Kahneman, ‘everyone has the option of slowing down to conduct an active search of memory for all possibly relevant facts’. 4Front is designed to ensure that you have all the possible relevant facts to hand. This means the time you have to slow down and think can be used on the problem, not in finding and qualifying the data.
In e-commerce the ready availability of data can often prompt rapid and ultimately fruitless activity – with its consequent absorption of scare resources. The data seems empowering, and yet, un-analysed and seen out of context it may lead erroneous conclusions. Our work since 2011 has reinforced the importance of ensuring that in e-commerce there is a role for what we call ‘slow data’. This is data collected in at least monthly intervals that can be set in the context of trends over time.
After all, to quote Kahneman, ‘everyone has the option of slowing down to conduct an active search of memory for all possibly relevant facts’. 4Front is designed to ensure that you have all the possible relevant facts to hand. This means the time you have to slow down and think can be used on the problem, not in finding and qualifying the data.
Focus not on what is easy, but on what is important
We believe e-commerce performs best when it is seen as an integrated system that drives consumers into customers in the market willing to consider your product or service where you have captured, or even paid to acquire, interest. Once interested and on your website or app the aim is to engage them such that they transact (buy or become a lead), be willing to establish a relationship with you, come back again and recommend your product or service to others.
Depending on your strategy, business model and annual targets your e-commerce system will be giving greater importance to different parts of this system than others. Our data scientists will tell you that after c.50 data points your ability to discriminate and interrogate becomes more limited: so we will work with you to identify 40-60 metrics that combined will be able to tell the story of performance.
E-commerce data needs careful handling and rigorous quality assurance such that it is robust and reliable and can be replicated. We will support you with a quality assurance check of the data you want to export into the platform as part of the set-up and if it needs work, we can help you improve its quality.
E-commerce data needs careful handling and rigorous quality assurance such that it is robust and reliable and can be replicated. We will support you with a quality assurance check of the data you want to export into the platform as part of the set-up and if it needs work, we can help you improve its quality.
The stories developed from your data help you focus and ‘dive deep’ where it matters.
No matter the size of your organisation this team and their expertise are available to you.
These scientists and strategists are relied on by global brands to tell their data stories.
Some of the world’s most successful brands use the Good Growth science team to create insight from their data.
Some of the world’s most successful brands use the Good Growth science team to create insight from their data.
More than software as a service
The first ‘insight as a service’ for e-commerce that utilises the expertise of scientists used by some of the world’s most successful e-commerce brands. We have subscriptions for organisations of every size and complexity and can tailor these into ‘off the shelf’ packages to ensure you get the best possible fit for your needs.
£750 / month*
For organisations with a turnover of up to £5m pa, this offers a simple platform reporting monthly with one integrated data story based on up to 20 KPIs.
Package includes:
1 domain
20 metrics
A single data story based on your metrics
Online help desk
5 licences
from £1,500 / month*
For organisations normally operating on one domain, this offers a platform that utilises up to 60 metrics reporting monthly grouped into the four parts of the e-commerce system and tells four distinct stories with an integrated executive summary.
Package includes:
Up to three domains*
Up to 60 metrics per domain
Five data stories that cover every aspect
Online Help desk
10 licences per domain
Additional services available including in-person analyst support and performance benchmarking
from £3,000 / month*
For large organisations often operating across multiple geographies and or with multiple domains, this offers a completely tailored solution (including the possibility of reporting more frequently than monthly if desired) based around the four parts of the e-commerce system with an integrated executive summary.
Package includes:
Unlimited domains*
Up to 200 metrics per domain
Five data stories that cover every aspect
Online help desk
In-person analyst support
20 licences per domain
Additional performance benchmarking services available
*Standard package in Professional is for one domain; standard package in Enterprise is for 2 domains reported monthly.
Frequently asked questions
How does 4Front help me?
As a business leader
It enables you to cut through complex and potentially confusing reports to understand the trends across key themes such as the effectiveness of digital marketing spend, e-mail and CRM-based marketing, onsite/in-app sales execution and the degree to which online shoppers are willing to consider your proposition.
As an e-commerce leader
It provides the opportunity to step back and think more strategically about the key drivers for performance informed by neutral and authoritative scientists who will highlight the good, the bad and the ugly. It helps you share key data quickly across the team and with key partners and download key data into presentations or standard reports as required.
How does the Help Desk work?
The Helpdesk has two elements:
A technical team that will resolve issues about service availability and a customer services team who will handle issues associated with data quality, reporting and access to additional support or services.
These can be contacted 24/7 every day of the year with a set time within which your issue will be resolved from date and time of receipt.
These can be contacted 24/7 every day of the year with a set time within which your issue will be resolved from date and time of receipt.
How am I charged?
Monthly in advance as agreed in your contract.
This will reflect the product you have bought and any associated additional services you have asked for.
There are no hidden costs associated with use and therefore you can be assured that the agreed monthly fee will not vary for the duration of the contract period. As you renew, we will flag if prices are changing and, if so, why in advance of the date for renewal.
There are no hidden costs associated with use and therefore you can be assured that the agreed monthly fee will not vary for the duration of the contract period. As you renew, we will flag if prices are changing and, if so, why in advance of the date for renewal.
How secure is our data?
4Front is hosted on AWS servers which offer the highest level of data security available on the market. Further details on AWS security and service assurance can be found at aws.amazon.com/security.
The data transfer process will be agreed with you in advance and where such transfer is not through an API it will be held in a secure password protected environment that meets the Cyber Security Plus standard in a file storage environment that also meets the toughest security standards in the market. We would expect to agree a Data Processing Agreement with you as part of the contract for your subscription service.
The data transfer process will be agreed with you in advance and where such transfer is not through an API it will be held in a secure password protected environment that meets the Cyber Security Plus standard in a file storage environment that also meets the toughest security standards in the market. We would expect to agree a Data Processing Agreement with you as part of the contract for your subscription service.
Is this GDPR compliant?
All 4Front data is anonymised collective data for periods of up to 24 months. As such 4Front holds no data that would be considered personal identifiable information.
Where data shared through 4Front is considered to be subject to GDPR (e.g. collected anonymised data sourced from web analytics) the appropriate data processing and sharing standards required by the regulations will be applied. All data is processed in the UK and stored in the EU.
Where data shared through 4Front is considered to be subject to GDPR (e.g. collected anonymised data sourced from web analytics) the appropriate data processing and sharing standards required by the regulations will be applied. All data is processed in the UK and stored in the EU.
How does benchmarking work?
We offer subscribers the opportunity to receive an annual benchmarking report for their metrics against the collective average of all subscribers for that metric. Where there are a critical mass of subscribers from a particular sector then we will also offer the benchmark comparison against that sector. The benchmark report is associated with a calendar year and will be published in Q1 of the following year.
Can I buy additional licences if I need them?
Yes
They come in bundles of 5 and prices for your product are available through the online help desk
Can I talk with the analyst responsible for my data stories if needed?
Every product subscription package includes the opportunity to submit a set of follow-up questions on the report when it is published within 48 hours of receipt. This will be responded to within 24 hours by the responsible team.
There is the opportunity to upgrade to our analyst-on-call service where the report is talked through directly with you as soon as it is ready to publish by a team member and to have changes made to the narratives (or data challenged) if required.
There is the opportunity to upgrade to our analyst-on-call service where the report is talked through directly with you as soon as it is ready to publish by a team member and to have changes made to the narratives (or data challenged) if required.
Request a demo
In requesting a demo you have our assurance that we will not be using the data collected via this form for any other purpose but to contact you about arranging a demonstration and communicating to you any follow-up information as part of the demonstration.