In this article, we’re going to walk you through the ins and outs of behavioural analytics software – what it is, how it can benefit you and how to pick the right one. We have made a list of 6 user behaviour analytics tools for SaaS for you to check out. Let’s get started!
What is behavioural analytics?
Behavioural analytics helps companies to fully understand how users interact with their products. Recording user activity, grouping the data together and analyzing things such as engagement is the focus of user behaviour analytics. Sometimes called product analytics, it records the most important data- the data that will make a difference in your business.
This information can help you gain deeper insight and understanding into the engagement users have with your product and how that relates to increasing retention, engagement, and importantly, revenue.
By automating the collection and management of data, teams can spend more time-solving problems, rather than searching for the problems.
How can it help you?
You might be wondering how else behaviour analytics can help you with your SaaS.
As mentioned before, it can help you identify issues, friction points and more within your software. For example, you can see where users are dropping off in the onboarding process.
If you can pinpoint the areas where your users struggle the most, you can zero in on those problem areas to improve your product and the user experience. This in turn helps you add value to your product. Understanding how to best help your users can also help with retention.
Another thing you can improve is knowing what features work, and which ones don’t. We’ve talked all about feature activation in a previous article and how important it is. It’s possible that even if users directly request a feature, they can fail to adopt it. This is a clear sign that your feature hasn’t been activated properly. This is a great example of the type of insight you can get from behavioural analytics. Using this information, the appropriate changes can be made to ensure the full use of a feature.
User behaviour analytics is like watching your users over their shoulder in real time. You can see where they linger, what parts they skim over and what they’re usually doing. Having this knowledge is a huge advantage. Small things you might miss are brought to the forefront and problems can be solved more efficiently. By segmenting your users you can also create a user persona for each distinct journey, personalizing the journey for each.
How do you pick the right one?
Firstly, you need to consider your product. What resources do you have available and what are the objectives you have for your business?
Secondly, consider the behavioural analytics you need to be tracking. Do you need to focus on one platform, or will you need cross-platform behavioural analytics?
Other factors that might influence your choice could be set-up time, feature tag abilities, how easy it is to set up custom events, user tracking capabilities, and general ease of use. Also, who will be using or reviewing the data? Depending on which software you choose, you might need someone more experienced or even a team to complete the setup and/or review the data.
Let’s take a look at some of our suggestions for great user behaviour analytics software.
Smartlook
First on the list is Smartlook. They have always-on visitor recording as well as heatmaps to help you understand trends in user behaviour. This tool has been rated highly by B2B and SaaS companies for its capabilities, which makes it a top choice for SaaS founders! Reviews from users say it really does give a “smart look” at your user’s behaviour. It is fast to set up and easy to use, making it a great choice for teams that need to start seeing data quickly and with minimal effort.
On Capterra Smartlook is rated 4.7 stars and has been shortlisted as a Noteworthy Product and Established Player for 2022. It is a Top Rated product on TrustRadius for 2022, making it clear that it is an established and popular choice among user behaviour analytics software.
Smartlook offers a free trial in addition to a free account, and the paid tier, Startup, starts at €31 per month. The prices range based on how many sessions per month you need, in addition to other capabilities you might want to add. Check out their pricing here to see which option will suit your needs best.
Mixpanel
Next, we have Mixpanel. Previously we reviewed Mixpanel in a video where we pointed out all the great features it offers and why its UI/UX design is fantastic.
Setting the events you want to be tracked can be a bit time-consuming, but once you have it done, it does a fantastic job. The data is pulled into your dashboard and from there you can share data with specific team members. It does really well collecting and tracking user data in real time as well.
However, as great as Mixpanel is, it does require some learning. If you choose to go with Mixpanel, make sure you or your team has the experience and most importantly the time to learn how to use it properly. Otherwise, Mixpanel won’t be of much use to you if it’s not being used correctly. That being said, a lot of helpful resources are available on their website to help you gain a deeper understanding of the software.
Mixpanel seems to be a better fit for large or enterprise-level companies that have teams available to complete set-up and to afford the enterprise-level subscription. For instance, by purchasing the enterprise option, reviewers say you can reap the most benefits from Mixpanel, and the odds are that with a larger team you’ll be able to get the most out of this software.
Lastly, if you wish to use Mixpanel on a smaller scale, for small or medium-sized businesses, they have a free version and a growth option starting at $25 monthly with more features. Find out more on their pricing page. Both G2 and Capterra rate Mixpanel 4.5/5 stars.
Heap
Heap will be your best choice if you’re looking for a “lite” version or an option with “low-code”. Moreover, if you don’t have the engineering resources or time to invest in setting up, Heap is your answer. Also, it is great for those companies that have multi-step journeys so you can see where users drop off in that journey.
Additionally, you can start tracking data from day one – no extensive setup required. With Heap, you can track users and accounts, and reporting is in real-time. Reviewers say it is robust, intuitive, easy to use and is easily integrated with your tech stack. If you take a look at the video or read more reviews, you’ll see that it is generally revered as having incredible features, but great things often don’t come cheap.
The free version offers up to ten thousand sessions per month on one project, unlimited user licenses, two sources and a few more perks like standard analysis. However, you might want a bit more than that. Besides the free version, they offer Growth, Pro and Premier options. The Growth option starts at $3600 annually and goes up from there, which is the main con that users and reviewers note for Heap.
Lastly, they offer a weekly live demo that you can check out to see how Heap works. G2 rates it 4.3/5 stars and Capterra gives it 4.5/5 stars.
FullStory
FullStory shows you everything you could want to know about how people interact with your product. Their aim is to empower everyone in an organization to create the best online experience. They use both qualitative data and quantitative analysis. This can help you understand the causes behind certain actions much better than depending solely upon isolated quantitative data analysis.
It records sessions so that you can track user interactions and create funnels to analyse their behaviour.
Additionally, FullStory measures the severity of impact so that you can prioritize which issue to start with first. The intuitive interface can help you find what you’re looking for easily. Teams can also collaborate with FullStory’s tools to streamline workflow and share information easily.
FullStory easily integrates with platforms such as Slack so that your team can carry on working effectively and start solving problems as a team ASAP. Moreover, they provide heat maps that are fully retroactive and generated instantly. These can be a huge help in better understanding your user.
However, they don’t outright give you the full story on pricing up front. They offer a 14-day free trial, which gives you access to their Business edition. They also offer Business and Enterprise options, but you’ll have to contact sales to learn more about pricing. G2 rates Fullstory 4.5/5 stars and Capterra gives it 4.6/5 stars.
Hotjar
Hotjar offers integrations, feedback widgets, user heatmaps, and surveys. It adds qualitative data to the quantitative data. If you want to see exactly where your users are going in their journey, this is the perfect tool for you. By using Hotjar, it is just like watching someone interact with your product in real-time. Watching a heatmap can help detect unactivated features and where users drop off, too.
Additionally, Hotjar includes real-time suggestion boxes so that users can communicate their frustration or contentedness with the part of your site they’re using. You receive direct feedback, so you won’t be left guessing.
Reviewers have said that it is comprehensive, polished and lightweight.
Also, they have very affordable pricing options. The Basic option is free and offers features such as unlimited heat maps and up to 1050 recordings per month. For their paid options, they offer a 20% discount if you buy yearly. The step up from Basic is Plus, which will cost you just €31 monthly if you purchase the annual option. Hotjar has a 4.4/5 star rating on G2 and on Capterra it sits at 4.7/5 stars.
Amplitude Analytics
Finally, we have Amplitude. Amplitude offers “ultra-fast, intelligent insight into customer behaviour”. They fill you in on past user behaviour and alert you to changes in user behaviour as well. Amplitude aids in answering more complex questions like, what kind of impact does my most recent release have?
It also has a wide range of integrations and can be a great tool if you’re looking for something that integrates well with your tech stack. With the insights it provides, you can create a solid and comprehensive user journey.
They have a handy noise filter, so you can focus on the moments that matter most in your customer experience. One customer said that Amplitude “anticipates the questions we have and surfaces the insights” that they’d normally have to spend hours on to find the right answer.
Amplitude Products
Amplitude offers 2 additional products apart from Amplitude Analytics that are useful in behavioural analytics. Initially, Amplitude Analytics will get you all the data you need. They suggest using Amplitude Recommend to translate all that data into action and lastly, Amplitude Experiment to configure the experiences and test for impact. By incorporating all three products, you can get a wholesome understanding and control over the data you are collecting.
Lastly and importantly, to implement this tool, you will need Engineering resources, as it’s not as simple to set up as Heap which is something important to consider. Installation is one of the main cons that users point out, as it’s often not very simple to set up. To find out the pricing you’ll have to sign up, request a demo or contact Sales. According to reviews online, besides the free version, rates have been said to start at $995/month. It has a 4.5/5 star rating on G2 and Capterra.
That concludes our review of user behaviour analytics tools. We hope that you have been able to take something away from this article and that you can implement one of these tools to be able to get the most out of your user analytics. Let us know your thoughts on which ones you use or want to use with your SaaS. Drop a comment to let us know what other user behavioural analytics software you use. Thanks for reading and check back here frequently to make sure you don’t miss the next article.
