According to McKinsey, data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers. They are also six times more likely to retain customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable as a result.
To be data-driven, you have to carefully select the product analytics tools you use. However, there are so many vendors on the market that it can be easy to lose track of what tools are worth considering.
We’ve done comprehensive research to help you understand what requirements you should look for when comparing product analytics tools, and we’ll show you the best ones on the market.
Contents
What Is a Product Analytics Tool?
Product analytics tools measure and summarize user interactions in software applications. This includes applications for both web and mobile devices. The analysis of your product can lead to insights into onboarding, retention or churn.
Capturing events and user journeys is the industry-standard capability of a product analytics tool. Whichever tool you choose should provide the relevant insights on the dashboard.
Advanced product analytics tools automatically capture all the interactions users take without requiring an event setup. Those tools can use the additional set of data to generate heatmaps or session replays, among others.
Industry-Standard Product Analytics Features
The following features are typical in most product analytics tools:
- Automatic data capturing.
- Detailed user segmentation.
- Detailed session segmentation.
- Ability to add and analyze events.
- Custom segments and reports.
- Data funnels.
- Key KPI dashboards.
- Date-based data filtering.
- User property attachment.
- Dashboard customization.
- Sankey diagrams for user journeys.
- User journey drill-down.
You need these features to analyze your product in three layers with your product analytics tools.
The first layer is the big picture of the product. Here are the top-level KPIs and the average user flow.
The second layer concerns specific funnels. User flows such as onboarding, conversion or engagement funnels are highlighted here.
The third layer gets specific about individual user journeys. Understanding user behavior will enable you to improve the UX of your product.
Types of Product Analytics
Product analytics tools come in different forms. Some just offer analytics, while others also provide related toolsets to, for example, capture customer feedback.
There’s also a difference between qualitative and quantitative product analytics tools. Qualitative analytics tools concern themselves with user behavior, whereas quantitative analytics tools focus on numerical data.
The technology used for web and mobile products isn’t the same, which is why it makes sense to have separate tools for each. A one-size-fits-all product analytics tool is likely to lack features or capabilities. You want to get specific and go for specialized tools too.
You can also try building your own product analytics tool in-house. This comes with additional development costs and a certain level of risk. We recommend a cost-benefit analysis here.
Product Analytics Implementation Process
We recommend that you take 5 minutes of your time to watch analytics thought leader Christian Eckhardt explain how to properly set up a product analytics tool:
Top Product Analytics Tools
The following tools are the best product analytics tools on the market.
We included the average review on Capterra to prove our point. We also tried to provide you the pricing for these tools, but keep in mind that all of the premium players on the market use a custom pricing model that varies depending on the usage volume.
UXCam
UXCam is the market leader for dedicated in-app product analytics. The tool is exclusive to mobile apps.
Reviews: 4,7 out of 5, based on 16 reviews.
Pricing: The first 100k sessions are free on the trial, Pricing upon request.
UXCam’s selling points:
- Reveal user frustrations automatically
- Quickly understand the full user journey
- Spot concealed bottlenecks
- Know where and why users drop off
- Automatic element tagging
UXCam has a quantitative analytics suite that enables deep analysis. It also has advantages that other product analytics tools do not:
1.) Discover the real sources of friction. Heatmaps inform you where users press and what items are missed by them.
2.) Get information on where users drop out, and why. Find out how users flow through the funnel.
3.) Replicate crashes and reduce them. By replicating each crash in under 30 seconds, you save precious developer time.
4.) Grasp the entire user journey with session replays.
UXCam’s clients have reported higher conversion and retention rates since they began using the service. You can get started with UXCam here.
UXCam takes 2 lines of code and less than 5 minutes to integrate.
Mixpanel
Reviews: 4,4 out of 5, based on 77 reviews.
Pricing: According to Capterra, Mixpanels’ pricing starts at $89.00 per month.
Mixpanel’s selling points:
- User Timeline
- Predictive analytics
- Custom dashboards
Adobe Analytics
Reviews: 4,4 out of 5, based on 153 reviews
Pricing: According to this article, pricing starts at $100,000. Adobe Analytics doesn’t disclose pricing.
Adobe Analytics’ selling points:
- Custom Analysis and visualization
- Intuitive interface
- Powerful segmentation
Gainsight PX
Reviews: 4,5 out of 5, based on 40 reviews
Pricing: Gainsight doesn’t disclose pricing.
Gainsight PX’s selling points:
- Behavior tracking with and without custom events
- Product Guide
- User Feedback
Amplitude
Reviews: 4,4 out of 5, based on 36 reviews
Pricing: According to GetApp, Amplitude is free for up to 10 million monthly events. Amplitude’s business plan starts at $995/month, Enterprise pricing is available upon request.
Amplitude’s selling points:
- Custom Dashboards
- User Profiles
- Real-time event stream
Conclusion
Effectively implementing a product analytics tool requires comprehensive research and clarity of the objectives you want to achieve. A clear understanding of the requirements and benefits of each one of these tools will help you in your further research.
We hope this guide is useful in searching for the best solution for you.
FAQ
Why are Product Analytics Tools Important?
Product Analytics tools enable businesses to see how customers engage with their software. Product analytics track digital footprint of users to uncover opportunities for improvement.
What are Product Metrics?
Product metrics track the success of a software product. Product metrics examples include retention rate, recurring revenue, or daily active users.
What is a Product Analyst?
Product Analysts analyze data to determine marketing and business strategies for a product.
Why are Product Analytics Tools Important?
Product Analytics tools enable businesses to see how customers engage with their software. Product analytics track digital footprint of users to uncover opportunities for improvement.
What are Product Metrics?
Product metrics track the success of a software product. Product metrics examples include retention rate, recurring revenue, or daily active users.
What is a Product Analyst?
Product Analysts analyze data to determine marketing and business strategies for a product.
