Avinash Kaushik - the evangelist for Google Analytics - says one of the main reasons why web sites suck (yes, his word) is because of the hippo - the "highest paid person's opinion." In short, his indictment was that while their opinion carried the most weight thanks to their position, inevitably they were also the person least-closest to the customer, and subsequently the most removed from what the customer wants out of your web site.
He advised marketers to create conversations with consumers using a simple, short and free online survey created by Iperceptions.com, an online research firm. The survey asks: Who is coming to your website? Why are they there? How are you doing? What do you need to fix?
The surveys "get customers involved in fixing things," he said.