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• How to create a widget – Introducing the Piwik Platform

  4 septembre 2014, par Thomas Steur — Development

  This is the next post of our blog series where we introduce the capabilities of the Piwik platform (our previous post was How to create a scheduled task in Piwik). This time you’ll learn how to create a new widget. For this tutorial you will need to have basic knowledge of PHP.

  What is a widget in Piwik ?

  Widgets can be added to your dashboards or exported via a URL to embed it on any page. Most widgets in Piwik represent a report but a widget can display anything. For instance a RSS feed of your corporate news. If you prefer to have most of your business relevant data in one dashboard why not display the number of offline sales, the latest stock price, or other key metrics together with your analytics data ?

  Getting started

  In this series of posts, we assume that you have already set up your development environment. If not, visit the Piwik Developer Zone where you’ll find the tutorial Setting up Piwik.

  To summarize the things you have to do to get setup :

  • Install Piwik (for instance via git).
  • Activate the developer mode : ./console development:enable --full.
  • Generate a plugin : ./console generate:plugin --name="MyWidgetPlugin". There should now be a folder plugins/MyWidgetPlugin.
  • And activate the created plugin under Settings => Plugins.

  Let’s start creating a widget

  We start by using the Piwik Console to create a widget template :

  ./console generate:widget

  The command will ask you to enter the name of the plugin the widget should belong to. I will simply use the above chosen plugin name “MyWidgetPlugin”. It will ask you for a widget category as well. You can select any existing category, for instance “Visitors”, “Live !” or “Actions”, or you can define a new category, for instance your company name. There should now be a file plugins/MyWidgetPlugin/Widgets.php which contains already some examples to get you started easily :

  class Widgets extends \Piwik\Plugin\Widgets
  {
      /**
       * Here you can define the category the widget belongs to. You can reuse any existing widget category or define your own category.
       * @var string
       */
      protected $category = 'ExampleCompany';
   
      /**
       * Here you can add one or multiple widgets. You can add a widget by calling the method "addWidget()" and pass the name of the widget as well as a method name that should be called to render the widget. The method can be defined either directly here in this widget class or in the controller in case you want to reuse the same action for instance in the menu etc.
       */
      protected function init()
      {
          $this->addWidget('Example Widget Name', $method = 'myExampleWidget');
          $this->addWidget('Example Widget 2',    $method = 'myExampleWidget', $params = array('myparam' => 'myvalue'));
      }
   
      /**
       * This method renders a widget as defined in "init()". It's on you how to generate the content of the widget. As long as you return a string everything is fine. You can use for instance a "Piwik\View" to render a twig template. In such a case don't forget to create a twig template (eg. myViewTemplate.twig) in the "templates" directory of your plugin.
       *
       * @return string
       */
      public function myExampleWidget()
      {
          $view = new View('@MyWidgetPlugin/myViewTemplate');
          return $view->render();
      }
  }
  Télécharger

  As you might have noticed in the generated template we put emphasis on adding comments to explain you directly how to continue and where to get more information. Ideally this saves you some time and you don’t even have to search for more information on our developer pages. The category is defined in the property $category and can be changed at any time. Starting from Piwik 2.6.0 the generator will directly create a translation key if necessary to make it easy to translate the category into any language. Translations will be a topic in one of our future posts until then you can explore this feature on our Internationalization guide.

  A simple example

  We can define one or multiple widgets in the init method by calling addWidget($widgetName, $methodName). To do so we define the name of a widget which will be seen by your users as well as the name of the method that shall render the widget.

  protected $category = 'Example Company';
  
  
  
  public function init()
  
  {
  
      // Registers a widget named 'News' under the category 'Example Company'. 
  
      // The method 'myCorporateNews' will be used to render the widget.
  
      $this->addWidget('News', $method = 'myCorporateNews'); 
  
  }
  
  
  
  public function myCorporateNews()
  
  {
  
      return file_get_contents('http://example.com/news');
  
  }

  This example would display the content of the specified URL within the widget as defined in the method myCorporateNews. It’s on you how to generate the content of the widget. Any string returned by this method will be displayed within the widget. You can use for example a View to render a Twig template. For simplification we are fetching the content from another site. A more complex version would cache this content for faster performance. Caching and views will be covered in one of our future posts as well.

  

  Did you know ? To make your life as a developer as stress-free as possible the platform checks whether the registered method actually exists and whether the method is public. If not, Piwik will display a notification in the UI and advice you with the next step.

  Checking permissions

  Often you do not want to have the content of a widget visible to everyone. You can check for permissions by using one of our many convenient methods which all start with \Piwik\Piwik::checkUser*. Just to introduce some of them :

  // Make sure the current user has super user access
  
  \Piwik\Piwik::checkUserHasSuperUserAccess(); 
  
  
  
  // Make sure the current user is logged in and not anonymous
  
  \Piwik\Piwik::checkUserIsNotAnonymous(); 

  And here is an example how you can use it within your widget :

  public function myCorporateNews()
  
  {
  
      // Make sure there is an idSite URL parameter
  
      $idSite = Common::getRequestVar('idSite', null, 'int');
  
  
  
      // Make sure the user has at least view access for the specified site. This is useful if you want to display data that is related to the specified site.
  
      Piwik::checkUserHasViewAccess($idSite); 
  
  
  
      $siteUrl = \Piwik\Site::getMainUrlFor($idSite);
  
  
  
      return file_get_contents($siteUrl . '/news');
  
  }

  In case any condition is not met an exception will be thrown and an error message will be presented to the user explaining that he does not have enough permissions. You’ll find the documentation for those methods in the Piwik class reference.

  How to test a widget

  After you have created your widgets you are surely wondering how to test it. First, you should write a unit or integration test which we will cover in one of our future blog posts. Just one hint : You can use the command ./console generate:test to create a test. To manually test a widget you can add a widget to a dashboard or export it.

  Publishing your Plugin on the Marketplace

  In case you want to share your widgets with other Piwik users you can do this by pushing your plugin to a public GitHub repository and creating a tag. Easy as that. Read more about how to distribute a plugin.

  Advanced features

  Isn’t it easy to create a widget ? We never even created a file ! Of course, based on our API design principle “The complexity of our API should never exceed the complexity of your use case.” you can accomplish more if you want : You can clarify parameters that will be passed to your widget, you can create a method in the Controller instead of the Widget class to make the same method also reusable for adding it to the menu, you can assign different categories to different widgets, you can remove any widgets that were added by the Piwik core or other plugins and more.

  Would you like to know more about widgets ? Go to our Widgets class reference in the Piwik Developer Zone.

  If you have any feedback regarding our APIs or our guides in the Developer Zone feel free to send it to us.

• A Guide to Bank Customer Segmentation

  18 juillet 2024, par Erin

  Banking customers are more diverse, complex, and demanding than ever. As a result, banks have to work harder to win their loyalty, with 75% saying they would switch to a bank that better fits their needs.

  The problem is banking customers’ demands are increasingly varied amid economic uncertainties, increased competition, and generational shifts.

  If banks want to retain their customers, they can’t treat them all the same. They need a bank customer segmentation strategy that allows them to reach specific customer groups and cater to their unique demands.

  What is customer segmentation ?

  Customer segmentation divides a customer base into distinct groups based on shared characteristics or behaviours.

  This allows companies to analyse the behaviours and needs of different customer groups. Banks can use these insights to target segments with relevant marketing throughout the customer cycle, e.g., new customers, inactive customers, loyal customers, etc.

  You combine data points from multiple segmentation categories to create a customer segment. The most common customer segmentation categories include :

  • Demographic segmentation
  • Website activity segmentation
  • Geographic segmentation
  • Purchase history segmentation
  • Product-based segmentation
  • Customer lifecycle segmentation
  • Technographic segmentation
  • Channel preference segmentation
  • Value-based segmentation

  

  By combining segmentation categories, you can create detailed customer segments. For example, high-value customers based in a particular market, using a specific product, and approaching the end of the lifecycle. This segment is ideal for customer retention campaigns, localised for their market and personalised to satisfy their needs.

  

  Matomo’s privacy-centric web analytics solution helps you capture data from the first visit. Unlike Google Analytics, Matomo doesn’t use data sampling (more on this later) or AI to fill in data gaps. You get 100% accurate data for reliable insights and customer segmentation.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Why is customer segmentation important for banks ?

  Customer segmentation allows you to address the needs of specific groups instead of treating all of your customers the same. This has never been more important amid a surge in bank switching, with three in four customers ready to switch to a provider that better suits their needs.

  Younger customers are the most likely to switch, with 19% of 18-24 year olds changing their primary bank in the past year (PDF).

  Customer expectations are changing, driven by economic uncertainties, declining trust in traditional banking, and the rise of fintech. Even as economic pressures lift, banks need to catch up with the demands of maturing millennials, Gen Z, and future generations of banking customers.

  Switching is the new normal, especially for tech-savvy customers encouraged by an expanding world of digital banking options.

  To retain customers, banks need to know them better and understand how their needs change over time. Customer retention provides the insights banks need to understand these needs at a granular level and the means to target specific customer groups with relevant messages.

  At its core, customer segmentation is essential to banks for two key reasons :

  • Customer retention : Holding on to customers for longer by satisfying their personal needs.
  • Customer lifetime value : Maximising ongoing customer revenue through retention, purchase frequency, cross-selling, and upselling.

  Here are some actionable bank customer segmentation strategies that can achieve these two objectives :

  Prevent switching with segment analysis

  Use customer segmentation to prevent them from switching to rivals by knowing what they want from you. Analyse customer needs and how they change throughout the lifecycle. Third-party data reveals general trends, but what do your customers want ?

  

  Use first-party customer data and segmentation to go beyond industry trends. Know exactly what your customers want from you and how to deliver targeted messages to each segment — e.g., first-time homebuyers vs. retirement planners.

  Keep customers active with segment targeting

  Target customer segments to keep customers engaged and motivated. Create ultra-relevant marketing messages and deliver them with precision to distinct customer segments. Nurture customer motivation by continuing to address their problems and aspirations.

  Improve the quality of services and products

  Knowing your customers’ needs in greater detail allows you to adapt your products and messages to cater to the most important segments. Customers switch banks because they feel their needs are better met elsewhere. Prevent this by implementing customer segmentation insights into product development and marketing.

  Personalise customer experiences by layering segments

  Layer segments to create ultra-specific target customer groups for personalised services and marketing campaigns. For example, top-spending customers are one of your most important segments, but there’s only so much you can do with this. However, you can divide this group into even narrower target audiences by layering multiple segments.

  For example, segmenting top-spending customers by product type can create more relevant messaging. You can also segment recent activity and pinpoint specific usage segments, such as those with a recent drop in transactions.

  Now, you have a three-layered segment of high-spending customers who use specific products less often and whom you can target with re-engagement campaigns.

  Maximise customer lifetime value

  Bringing all of this together, customer segmentation helps you maximise customer lifetime value in several ways :

  • Prevent switching
  • Enhance engagement and motivation
  • Re-engage customers
  • Cross-selling, upselling
  • Personalised customer loyalty incentives

  The longer you retain customers, the more you can learn about them, and the more effective your lifetime value campaigns will be.

  Balancing bank customer segmentation with privacy and marketing regulations

  Of course, customer segmentation uses a lot of data, which raises important legal and ethical questions. First, you need to comply with data and privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. Second, you also have to consider the privacy expectations of your customers, who are increasingly aware of privacy issues and rising security threats targeting financial service providers.

  If you aim to retain and maximise customer value, respecting their privacy and protecting their data are non-negotiables.

  Regulators are clamping down on finance

  Regulatory scrutiny towards the finance industry is intensifying, largely driven by the rise of fintech and the growing threat of cyber attacks. Not only was 2023 a record-breaking year for finance security breaches but several compromises of major US providers “exposed shortcomings in the current supervisory framework and have put considerable public pressure on banking authorities to reevaluate their supervisory and examination programs” (Deloitte).

  Banks face some of the strictest consumer protections and marketing regulations, but the digital age creates new threats.

  In 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned that digital marketers must comply with finance consumer protections when targeting audiences. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said : “When Big Tech firms use sophisticated behavioural targeting techniques to market financial products, they must adhere to federal consumer financial protection laws.”

  This couldn’t be more relevant to customer segmentation and the tools banks use to conduct it.

  Customer data in the hands of agencies and big tech

  Banks should pay attention to the words of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra when partnering with marketing agencies and choosing analytics tools. Digital marketing agencies are rarely experts in financial regulations, and tech giants like Google don’t have the best track record for adhering to them.

  Google is constantly in the EU courts over its data use. In 2022, the EU ruled that the previous version of Google Analytics violated EU privacy regulations. Google Analytics 4 was promptly released but didn’t resolve all the issues.

  Meanwhile, any company that inadvertently misuses Google Analytics is legally responsible for its compliance with data regulations.

  Banks need a privacy-centric alternative to Google Analytics

  Google’s track record with data regulation compliance is a big issue, but it’s not the only one. Google Analytics uses data sampling, which Google defines as the “practice of analysing a subset of data to uncover meaningful information from a larger data set.”

  This means Google Analytics places thresholds on how much of your data it analyses — anything after that is calculated assumptions. We’ve explained why this is such a problem before, and GA4 relies on data sampling even more than the previous version.

  In short, banks should question whether they can trust Google with their customer data and whether they can trust Google Analytics to provide accurate data in the first place. And they do. 80% of financial marketers say they’re concerned about ad tech bias from major providers like Google and Meta.

  

  Matomo is the privacy-centric alternative to Google Analytics, giving you 100% data ownership and compliant web analytics. With no data sampling, Matomo provides 20-40% more data to help you make accurate, informed decisions. Get the data you need for customer segmentation without putting their data at risk.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Bank customer segmentation examples

  Now, let’s look at some customer segments you create and layer to target specific customer groups.

  Visit-based segmentation

  Visit segmentation filters audiences based on the pages they visit on your website and the behaviors they exhibit—for example, first-time visitors vs. returning visitors or landing page visitors vs. blog page visitors.

  If you look at HSBC’s website, you’ll see it is structured into several categories for key customer personas. One of its segments is international customers living in the US, so it has pages and resources expats, people working in the US, people studying in the US, etc. 

  

  By combining visit-based segmentation with ultra-relevant pages for specific target audiences, HSBC can track each group’s demand and interest and analyse their behaviours. It can determine which audiences are returning, which products they want, and which messages convert them.

  Demographic segmentation

  Demographic segmentation divides customers by attributes such as age, gender, and location. However, you can also combine these insights with other non-personal data to better understand specific audiences.

  For example, in Matomo, you can segment audiences based on the language of their browser, the country they’re visiting from, and other characteristics. So, in this case, HSBC could differentiate between visitors already residing in the US and those outside of the country looking for information on moving there.

  

  It could determine which countries they’re visiting, which languages to localise for, and which networks to run ultra-relevant social campaigns on.

  Interaction-based segmentation

  Interaction-based segmentation uses events and goals to segment users based on their actions on your website. For example, you can segment audiences who visit specific URLs, such as a loan application page, or those who don’t complete an action, such as failing to complete a form.

  

  With events and goals set up, you can track the actions visitors complete before making purchases. You can monitor topical interests, page visits, content interactions, and pathways toward conversions, which feed into their customer journey.

  From here, you can segment customers based on their path leading up to their first purchase, follow-up purchases, and other actions.

  Purchase-based segmentation

  Purchase-based segmentation allows you to analyse the customer behaviours related to their purchase history and spending habits. For example, you can track the journey of repeat customers or identify first-time buyers showing interest in other products/services.

  You can implement these insights into your cross-selling and upselling campaigns with relevant messages designed to increase retention and customer lifetime value.

  Get reliable website analytics for your bank customer segmentation needs

  With customers switching in greater numbers, banks need to prioritise customer retention and lifetime value. Customer segmentation allows you to target specific customer groups and address their unique needs — the perfect strategy to stop them from moving to another provider.

  Quality, accurate data is the key ingredient of an effective bank customer segmentation strategy. Don’t accept data sampling from Google Analytics or any other tool that limits the amount of your own data you can access. Choose a web analytics tool like Matamo that unlocks the full potential of your website analytics to get the most out of bank customer segmentation.

  Matomo is trusted by over 1 million websites globally, including many banks, for its accuracy, compliance, and reliability. Discover why financial institutions rely on Matomo to meet their web analytics needs.

  Start collecting the insights you need for granular, layered segmentation — without putting your bank customer data at risk. Request a demo of Matomo now.

  Try Matomo for Free

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• I Really Like My New EeePC

  29 août 2010, par Multimedia Mike — General

  Fair warning : I’m just going to use this post to blather disconnectedly about a new-ish toy.

  I really like my new EeePC. I was rather enamored with the original EeePC 701 from late 2007, a little box with a tiny 7″ screen that is credited with kicking off the netbook revolution. Since then, Asus has created about a hundred new EeePC models.

  Since I’m spending so much time on a train these days, I finally took the plunge to get a better netbook. I decided to stay loyal to Asus and their Eee lineage and got the highest end EeePC they presently offer (which was still under US$500)– the EeePC 1201PN. The ’12′ in the model number represents a 12″ screen size and the rest of the specs are commensurately as large. Indeed, it sort of blurs the line between netbook and full-blown laptop.

  
  
  

  Incidentally, after I placed the order for the 1201PN nearly 2 months ago, and I mean the very literal next moment, this Engadget headline came across announcing the EeePC 1215N. My new high-end (such as it is) computer purchase was immediately obsoleted ; I thought that only happened in parody. (As of this writing, the 1215N still doesn’t appear to be shipping, though.)

  It’s a sore point among Linux aficionados that Linux was used to help kickstart the netbook trend but that now it’s pretty much impossible to find Linux pre-installed on a netbook. So it is in this case. This 1201PN comes with Windows 7 Home Premium installed. This is a notable differentiator from most netbooks which only have Windows 7 Home Starter, a.k.a., the Windows 7 version so crippled that it doesn’t even allow the user to change the background image.

  I wished to preserve the Windows 7 installation (you never know when it will come in handy) and dual boot Linux. I thought I would have to use the Windows partition tool to divide work some magic. Fortunately, the default installation already carved the 250 GB HD in half ; I was able to reformat the second partition and install Linux. The details are a little blurry, but I’m pretty sure one of those external USB optical drives shown in my last post actually performed successfully for this task. Lucky break.

  
  
  The EeePC 1201PN, EeePC 701, Belco Alpha-400, and even a comparatively gargantuan Sony Vaio full laptop– all of the portable computers in the household
  

  So I got Ubuntu 10.04 Linux installed in short order. This feels like something of a homecoming for me. You see, I used Linux full-time at home from 1999-2006. In 2007, I switched to using Windows XP full-time, mostly because my home use-case switched to playing a lot of old, bad computer games. By the end of 2008, I had transitioned to using the Mac Mini that I had originally purchased earlier that year for running FATE cycles. That Mac served as my main home computer until I purchased the 1201PN 2 months ago.

  Mostly, I have this overriding desire for computers to just work, at least in their basic functions. And that’s why I’m so roundly impressed with the way Linux handles right out of the box. Nearly everything on the 1201PN works in Linux. The video, the audio, the wireless networking, the webcam, it all works out of the box. I had to do the extra installation step to get the binary nVidia drivers installed but even that’s relatively seamless, especially compared to “the way things used to be” (drop to a prompt, run some binary installer from the prompt as root, watch it fail in arcane ways because the thing is only certified to run on one version of one Linux distribution). The 1201PN, with its nVidia Ion2 graphics, is able to drive both its own 1366×768 screen simultaneously with an external monitor running at up on 2560×1600.

  The only weird hiccup in the whole process was that I had a little trouble with the special volume keys on the keyboard (specifically, the volume up/down/mute keys didn’t do anything). But I quickly learned that I had to install some package related to ACPI and they magically started to do the right thing. Now I get to encounter the Linux Flash Player bug where modifying volume via those special keys forces fullscreen mode to exit. Adobe really should fix that.

  Also, trackpad multitouch gestures don’t work right away. Based on my reading, it is possible to set those up in Linux. But it’s largely a preference thing– I don’t care much for multitouch. This creates a disparity when I use Windows 7 on the 1201PN which is configured per default to use multitouch.

  
  
  The same 4 laptops stacked up
  

  So, in short, I’m really happy with this little machine. Traditionally, I have had absolutely no affinity for laptops/notebooks/portable computers at all even if everyone around was always completely enamored with the devices. What changed for me ? Well for starters, as a long-time Linux user, I was used to having to invest in very specific, carefully-researched hardware lest I not be able to use it under the Linux OS. This was always a major problem in the laptop field which typically reign supreme in custom, proprietary hardware components. These days, not so much, and these netbooks seem to contain well-supported hardware. Then there’s the fact that laptops always cost so much more than similarly capable desktop systems and that I had no real reason for taking a computer with me when I left home. So my use case changed, as did the price point for relatively low-power laptops/netbooks.

  Data I/O geek note : The 1201PN is capable of wireless-N networking — as many netbooks seem to have — but only 100 Mbit ethernet. I wondered why it didn’t have gigabit ethernet. Then I remembered that 100 Mbit ethernet provides 11-11.5 Mbytes/sec of transfer speed which, in my empirical experience, is approximately the maximum write speed of a 5400 RPM hard drive– which is what the 1201PN possesses.