So I thought I would take some time and point out a great example of how NOT to run a business. This doesn’t just apply to typical land based businesses, but also to websites projects, product sites, service sites, etc. If you are reading this post, then I’m going to assume you are in the online marketing business, or selling a product, or offering a service. So this will apply to all of those situations. All of these things are similar, if only for the simple fact that you are trying to offer something people want or need. In all these cases, if you are not focused on your customer, listening to their feedback, and adapting to changes in the market then you will be out of business quickly.

You can simply google “woopra reviews” - And quickly see posts made within the last 2-3 years, and people were saying how awesome woopra was, how great the stats were, and overall just how useful the data was to serious webmaster. Woopra was the talk of the web world. winning a ton of webby type awards right out of the gate. The initial closed beta rocketed woopra to the radar of sites like Tech Crunch and Cnet.

So where did it all go wrong?

The Downfall of Woopra.com

If you haven’t heard of woopra.com before, let me tell you a little bit about it. Woopra was founded as an alternative to programs like Google analytics, site meter, piwiki, etc. At first I thought, why would anyone PAY for an analytics program, when a Billion Dollar Company like Google was allowing people to use their analytics for free? I quickly found out that they offered things other programs didn’t. Not only did they track website visits and metrics like all these other programs, but they also offered an awesome Desktop application, which allowed you to see Real Time Analytics on your website. even more, they offers a ton of information about visitors on your site.

When Woopra Beta was launched a few years ago, several programs offered something similar, but woopra showed it in real time, and displayed it in such a way even a novice could understand what was happening on their site. Woopra was in beta test for over a year, and approval was done in short batches, so they created scarcity and curiosity. Word spread, and everyone was wanting a chance to beta test the product. some of their features were just that good!

After Beta Woopra ended, they came out with a paid version, anyone could get a basic taste of woopra for as little as $5 a month per site, and they even offered a basic Free version, you just had to put up with the ads within the desktop app. Woopra quickly created a small cult following, they released frequent updates, listen to the user feedback, had an active forum community of users that we helping refine the product. Members we even volunteering to help develop Iphone app, android apps, etc. It has all the makings of the next awesome product for webmaster.

I was honestly impressed with the level of interaction I was seeing in the forum community, everyone was praising them, paying them, and helping them provide what paid users wanted. Then, woopra made the biggest mistake a company can make. They stopped listening to their members.

Woopra Fails

Towards the end of 2010, the woopra team announced they would stop updating the desktop app, and put more focus and resources into the web browser app. this confused everyone (including me) – As communities do, they made posts explaining why they didn’t like this direction, some user said they would be cancelling their paid memberships, etc.

The woopra team keep assuring everyone, that eliminating the desktop app was the best thing long term for users. They kept repeating this over and over, and even though the members disagreed. Woopra decided they knew best what their customers wanted. So for over a year, the desktop app remained static, no updates, and alll efforts were poured into the browser application. Users still posted their concerns, post saying things like “The Desktop app is the ONLY reason I am paying for woopra” and “the desktop app is what makes you different from other programs, please don’t eliminate it”.

Of course by this time, woopra had removed the desktop app from their website, stopped updating it, and they were confident they knew best.

The Woopra.com Result

Now keep in mind, woopra is still in business, but they have for all intent and purposes shut down the community forum, and replaced it with a few sections for reporting bugs, and REMOVED the rest. the forum is now 90% spam posts. They apparently got tired of listening to their customers tell them what they wanted. The Woopra Facebook page has not been updated in 2 months. I’ve seen a few people post on there various questions, and all posts, and most comments are quickly removed. The Woopra Blog has not been updating in almost 3 months. If you sent a message through the “contact form” on their page, you get back a canned email response.

So let’s review:

• They shutdown the forum
• Stopped updating their blog
• Stopped updating Facebook
• Stopped responding to paying customer emails

So, this is exactly how you kill a business. No matter what type of business you have, you must listen to what your customers want. If you’re not sure, ASK them. If you don’t like what you hear, then you need to seriously re-think your business model. Woopra is the subject of this lesson, but you can replace Woopra with a hundred different business. This is a common mistake, and one that will be repeated. I hope by reading this, your business won’t be the next one I write about.

Did Woopra help improve Google Analytics?

Yeah, Probably – Is my answer. With all the google labs projects and innovations. I think a product like Woopra probably made all analytics providers take notice. Woopra wouldn’t be the first company to splash on the scene and get hyped up. In Woopra’s case the hype was true. But after getting the latest email from the Google analytics team, and seeing the headline “Real Time Stats” – I knew it was signaling the end of woopra. That’s went I went to post on the woopra community forums (where I use to post regularly) and I realized they have deleted the forums, they delete comments and questions of their facebook page, and they don’t respond to emails. Remember, I pay well over $100 a month to Woopra, every month, since they launched their paid models. I’ve been their biggest fans.

Oh and BTW the new features in GA:

• Real Time Stats
• Mobile Stats
• Email Reports
• Custom Modules
• Multi-Channel funnels
• Flow Visualization

Anyway, I guess you guys get the picture by now. Although, I’m still paying for woopra on 12 sites and using a hacked version of their old and no longer updated desktop app. I spent ah hour today playing with the new Google Analytics interface. It’s honestly awesome, not only the new design, but the new data is easy to find and understand.

The Lesson for us all

So to wrap this up. Woopra has failed because someone. I dunno if it was the owner, the board, the investors, or who. Someone at Woopra chose to ignore what the users and community was saying. I know before the community was shut own, one of the longest and most viewed threads were post pleading with woopra to stick to what worked. They chose to go in another direction, and left their customers behind.