This is to understand why the number of orders in the Mapp Intelligence tool may differ from your shop/CRM/backend system and what to do about it.

  • A tiny difference (say less than 1%, as an example) means, you‘re in the range where big companies act and you have a great analytics/IT/BI team.
  • A very small difference (say between 1-3%) means, your analytics team is still doing a great job, even if you don’t have a huge analytics/IT/BI team as big companies have.
  •  A small difference (say between 3-5%) means, your analytics runs without „real“ problems on the webpage. This is totally okay! Don’t fix anything, analyze your data, and optimize your shop. Do not spend a lot of money on things you don’t need yet!
  •  A medium difference (say between 5-10%) means, there are some minor problems (maybe 1 bigger or 1-3 smaller problems) but you‘re still able to optimize your onsite activities if the difference is systematical.
  • A large difference (say between 10-20%) means, there must be some (1-3) bigger problems. Fix them first before starting the optimization.
  • A very large difference (say higher than 20%) means: Please read the manuals carefully, fix the problems or reimplement the code.

The answers to the following questions can help to localize the reason(s) of the differences:

  • Are your own backend numbers really correct?
  • When does your backend count an order? When does Mapp Intelligence count an order? Is there a difference?
  • How is an order defined in your system? Is it really the same as in Mapp Intelligence?
  • Are there orders, which get dropped by the backend because of a business rule (internal orders, orders for other companies, where the E-Commerce shop is just acting as an affiliate)?
  • Do you use 3rd-party tracking? Tracking blockers could explain a small difference of around 1-5%.
  • Are there any product names that contain quotes ( “ “ )? This can cause problems and unexpected behavior.
  • Do you use a payment method, where visitors leave the page and come back to the confirmation page (like Paypal)? Does the tracking still work?
  • Is there a way to crash the algorithm at the basket overview, like editing the numbers of products, erase them or drop them and cross-buy another one?
  • Is there a difference between the counting of the ContentIDs of the confirmation page and the number of orders?
  • Is an IP-range-filter defined in the Mapp Intelligence tool?
  • Is there a source of orders that you are counting in your backend numbers that may not be tagged with Mapp Intelligence (for example, another domain, a sub-domain in the store, another country’s website, a mobile app)?
  • Is there any other JavaScript code on top of the Mapp Intelligence JavaScript code? Even if the pixel is on top of the HTML page this doesn’t mean, it is really on top. In an example case, the difference dropped from 17% to less than 2% after switching the Mapp Intelligence pixel with another JavaScript code.

These questions should be discussed between the responsibles of the online marketing team, the backend team, and the team that implemented Mapp Intelligence. As well as the differences and what their impact might be.