Available on: Analyst, Pro, and Enterprise plans
In this article
What is Compass?
What's in your Report
How to turn on Compass
How long until your Report is ready
What your customers see
How survey data is used
Reading your Report
Pausing and activating Compass
Coming from Automated Insights
FAQ
What is Compass?
Compass pairs your post-purchase survey with your order data, then compares it against similar brands in your industry. You can see where you stand without building a report.
Compass runs as your Fallback Survey. It shows to customers who no longer qualify for any other live survey on your account, and your Report fills in as responses arrive.
You never see another brand's name, and they never see yours.
What's in your Report
Your Report has five tabs:
Overview: your headline numbers next to similar brands, the metrics where you stand out most (What matters most), and a short list of Trends.
Customers:
How they find and buy from you: how they found you, which social networks they use, and where they spend the most online.
Who they are: age, gender, and who they buy for.
Commerce:
Order and revenue metrics from your order data: average order value, average price per item, customers who buy again, first-time buyers, orders per customer, products per cart, orders with a discount, and revenue given as discounts.
Breakdowns such as how deep your discounts run.
Sentiment: whether customers bought more or less than normal in the last 30 days, what they plan to spend over the next 3 months, and how they see the economy.
How this works: who you're compared to, how reliable the comparison is, and how to read your grades and Trends.
Each survey chart has a What we asked button that shows the exact question.
Use the controls at the top of your Report to switch between 30 days, 90 days, or a Specific month or quarter. Your Report refreshes nightly as new responses come in.
How to turn on Compass
Before you start:
Your account needs at least one active integration (Shopify or a Custom Integration).
Only an account Admin can accept the Compass Terms.
Steps:
Select Compass by KNO in the left sidebar.
On the Preview tab, look over what Compass includes, then select Review terms and unlock your report.
On the Terms tab, read What happens next and Terms Highlights. The full Compass Terms and Privacy Policy are linked below the highlights.
Check the box to accept the Terms on behalf of your organization.
Select Accept & Activate.
You'll land on your Report.
Messages you might see:
You're not an Admin: only an account Admin can accept the Terms for your organization. Ask an Admin on your account to finish this step.
No active integration: connect your Shopify store or set up a Custom Integration under Settings → Integrations, then activate Compass.
You already have a Fallback Survey: Compass uses Kno's Fallback Survey feature, so it replaces your existing one.
Select Continue to activate Compass and remove the existing Fallback Survey.
Select Go Back to keep your current Fallback Survey and leave Compass paused.
How long until your Report is ready
Compass needs time to collect customer responses before it can compare you with similar brands. Until then, your Report shows Your data is being prepared.
Typical wait by monthly orders:
Under 1,000 orders a month: about 30 days
1,000 to 5,000 orders a month: about 25 days
5,000+ orders a month: about 15 days
These are estimates and vary with how many survey responses come in. Compass only shows to customers who don't qualify for your other live surveys, so running more live surveys can lengthen the wait.
After your Report is ready, some tabs may stay blurred with Still collecting responses. Check back soon. until there's enough data for that section. A wider time window, such as 90 days, can help.
What your customers see
When Compass shows: Kno always shows a customer any live survey they qualify for first. Compass shows only when:
All live surveys are complete: the customer has completed every active survey they qualify for.
No surveys qualify: the customer's email or order doesn't meet the Audience criteria for any of your surveys.
Where it shows: on your post-purchase confirmation page. That's your Thank You page, Order Status page, or the non-Shopify equivalent, depending on your platform.
Research notice: customers see a short notice in the Compass survey: "Your answers to this survey also contribute to aggregate industry insights." It links to Kno's explanation of how the data is used.
Questions: the Compass questions are standardized and can't be edited. That's what keeps the comparisons with similar brands consistent.
How survey data is used
Answers to Compass questions are added to Kno's research dataset. That dataset produces de-identified insights, shared in aggregated form through Compass and Kno's benchmarks, including research reports.
Results never identify your store or your customers.
Small groups are hidden rather than shown as an unreliable number.
Kno is responsible for this data under the Kno Privacy Policy. For full details, see the Compass section of the Kno Terms of Service and the Kno Privacy Policy.
Reading your Report
Similar brands: the other KNO brands in your industry. Compass compares you with the typical brand, which is the middle (median) brand, not the average. That way one large brand can't skew the comparison.
Performance metrics are graded. These are things every brand wants to do well on, like order value, repeat rate, and discounts. Grades are based on where you rank among similar brands:
Excellent: top 25%
Good: above the typical brand
Fair: below the typical brand
Poor: bottom 25%
When a lower number is better, such as discounts, the scale flips, so a lower number earns Excellent.
Customer answers are not graded. A different audience isn't better or worse. Instead, Compass highlights the one answer that differs most from similar brands as a Trend: something to notice, not a score.
Reliability:
High: 10+ brands, with 30+ responses each
Medium: 5 to 9 brands; read with care
Low: fewer than 5 brands; indicative only
Grades and Trends only appear when reliability is High.
Pausing and activating Compass
To pause Compass:
Open Compass and select the Settings tab.
Select Pause Compass.
Confirm with Yes, Pause.
When Compass is paused:
The Compass survey stops showing to customers.
No new answers are collected or added to Kno's research dataset.
Your Report, including your comparisons with similar brands, is hidden.
To turn Compass back on: go to Settings and select Activate Compass.
You need the Surveys permission to pause or activate Compass.
Coming from Automated Insights
Compass is the new version of Automated Insights. If your account uses Automated Insights, you'll see a Compass by KNO card at the top of the Automated Insights page.
Select See what's new to open the Compass Preview.
Select Back to Automated Insights at any time to return.
When you're ready to switch, follow the Terms steps above.
Automated Insights keeps working until you switch.
FAQ
Can I customize the Compass questions?No. The questions are standardized so your results can be compared with similar brands.
Will other brands see my data? No. Other brands never see your name or your customers. Everything is pooled into totals.
Why is part of my Report blurred? Compass is still collecting responses for that section. Check back soon, or try a wider time window.
Does Compass replace my Fallback Survey? Yes. Compass runs as your Fallback Survey. If you already have one, you'll be asked to confirm before it's replaced.
Where can I send feedback? Email hello@knocommerce.com.