Contacts stop being tracked

[Anonymous]

We have cases where contacts stop being tracked by Marketo. For example, we see when the customer has logged in and this works until some time when suddenly it stops. We have another system, where we can verify that the customer continues logging in, on a daily basis, let's say. 
I had a case with support and they told me that the reasons could be the customer has installed track blocking add-on / software or deleted coockies. The solution is to ask the customer to click on a link in an email sent from Marketo. This sounds quite unacceptable as we don't want say "hey, click that because we want to track you". 

Anyone has similar experience and can share solution? Feedback is much appreciated. 
Thank you. 

[Anonymous]

The track blocking add-on is a very elementary method - it is in fact the tip of an iceberg.

It is important to highlight that extends far beyond Marketo, Google Analytics, AWStats, eLogic, ShinyStat, SiteMeter, StatCounter, W3Counter, W3Perl, Webalizer and Woopra among many others.

Modern tracking relies on JavaScript. Savvy users choose to enable and disable JavaScript as needed. That is the reason tracking becomes discontinuous. One typical evidence is the activity log in Marketo: you would find Fill Out Form without Visit Web Page. From the practical standpoint, if a form is hosted on a landing page, tracking would display both. 

Privacy is a cat and mouse game. Blocking tracking is just one basic technique. Anonymous browsing is far more powerful. It relies on multiple layers of proxy servers. To put into perspective, a user based in the US, running Chrome on Mac OS X may be tracked as French running Firefox on Linux.  A further step, combining anonymous with disabled JavaScript, would suppress that all.

I would suggest a simple and very quick test: visit http://www.hidemyass.com, visit a landing page and fill out a form.

Locate the lead and review the activity log. Review the stats if you have Google Analytics and/or any of the tracking tools mentioned above. The results will be consistent.

Tor is the most advanced and effective privacy protection. It was originally developed with the U.S. Navy in mind, for the primary purpose of protecting government communications.  It consists of a network of virtual tunnels.

Mac OS X, Linux and Unix users have vast resources within easy reach. It is fair to argue they are a minority of desktop users. However it makes sense to consider most mobile browsers run on iOS (Unix-based) and Android (Linux-based). There are anonymising browsers for both platforms. I am a native Unix user, back to early 80's. I was used to access the Internet before it became commercially available. Privacy was not a concern at that time because it was a closed and very controlled environment. I decided to remain protected, the reason I am so familiar with a range of techniques.

In summary, privacy is a challenge for the while advertising, CRM and Marketing Automation industry. 

[Anonymous]

Hi Breno, thank you for your reply. We don't look into the leads sign up tracking in this case - the lead has been converted to a contact, i.e. they started using the product and paid for it. 

Just to summarize from your opinion - it is normal to have contacts whose activity cannot be tracked with Marketo (because of various reasons you mentioned). Is this correct?
Thank you.

[Anonymous]

In a generic scenario the lead conversion should keep tracking as it was before that event.

eSpatial uses very advanced techniques for tracking and trial account creation. There is a server-side process aggregating details and routing to the relevant application.

Is the loss of tracking affecting a percentage of contacts or all converted leads?

It can arise from user actions, changes in one or more layers (including Marketo) or a combination of both.

I would open a support case to investigate if the loss of tracking is widespread.

[Anonymous]

After the lead is converted, the tracking continues - that's not a problem. Tracking goes on for let's say two months and then suddenly stops. This happens only on a few contacts - it's not for all contacts but customer service agents keep coming to me from time to time and asking why a contact doesn't have tracking history any more. 

I had a case open with support and provided examples but the solution was: "ask your contact to click on a link in an email sent from Marketo"...we have no reason to ask a contact to do that - we have to explain each of them why - and we can't say: because we want to track you. 

I need to know how much of control I (as an admin) have over the tracking results and if / what I can do.  

[Anonymous]

The fact it affects only a few contacts is a potential symptom of users resourcing to privacy settings, perhaps combined with anonymising and/or disabling JavaScript. I tend to let websites track and cookie me. However, coming from the good old Unix school, I become totally unreachable and unidentifiable when I feel a website is crossing the line.

I will locate the open support case. In the meantime please let me know few lead ID (just the number) to review the activity log.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again, Breno. The case is now closed (No:00224126) but you can see it probably. In the comments there I have put example emails. I have a more recent one but as it's a customer email, I can't post it here. If you can send me an email on sbegov@espatial.com - I will reply.
 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

The activity log for Lead ID 1430278 confirms the tracking discontinuity. There is a strong evidence of Chrome running in Incognito mode in conjunction with "DoNotTrackMe" plugin.

Activity Details ID 35326999 and 34061525 are merge leads, consistent with the new cookie set by nurturing campaigns.

That lead highlights the advertising, CRM and Marketing Automation industries will need to seek new approaches. It is far wider than Marketo in particular. There is no reason to be alarmed for now. However the challenge is very real.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there a way I can fingure out when a lead/contact has the Chrome running in Incognito mode / "DoNotTrackMe" plugin? Is this in the record in Marketo or you used other tools? 

Anyway - you answered my initial question completely and helped me to get the picture! (best answer is the least I can do for your effort to explain it to me:)
Thank you very much!

[Anonymous]

The good or bad outcome, depending on the perspective we are thinking of privacy, running Chrome in Incognito mode combined with DoNotTrackMe does not leave relevant traces.

The users' router will have limited details. The users' internet service provider will have nothing when Tor is used. Military-grade security is that powerful. https://www.torproject.org/