Product Analytics Tools vs Customer Success Platforms

Product analytics tools are great! They help businesses to track and analyze customers’ interaction with their product and its various features. They can also effectively help in improving product adoption.

In the era of SaaS applications, one critical piece of the puzzle is product usage data. This void paved the way for product analytics tools that stepped in to fill the gap. These tools, while inherently product-centric, have proven invaluable for product managers seeking real-time insights into customer behavior, enabling them to enhance their performance.

Solutions such as Heap, Amplitude, and Mixpanel have emerged as leaders in this domain, offering intuitive and centralized interfaces where stakeholders can distill intricate product information into actionable insights, resulting in a superior customer experience.

But is a product analytics tool ideal for your Customer Success strategy? Find out in our comparison sheet below:

While product analytics tools have undoubtedly propelled Customer Success teams toward a more proactive approach, it's important to note that these tools were primarily designed for product teams with analytics as their primary focus.

Consequently, they often fall short when it comes to generating specific user journey data for individual customers. Think of essential aspects like onboarding, usage, product adoption metrics, support engagement, and other pivotal milestones that require ongoing monitoring and analysis.

The Problem With Product Analytics Tools

Product analytics tools are invaluable for improving in-app engagements and surveys sent to customers. However, they do have limitations. While Customer success platforms can provide insights into how many users clicked on a survey, they fall short in delivering a detailed analysis of user responses and the overall user sentiment towards the product's features.

Missing Engagement Opportunities

Product adoption is a critical phase in a customer's journey. It's the point where they acquaint themselves with your product, and ensuring a smooth transition is essential. Yet, relying solely on automation or human intervention isn't enough. Users today expect a personalized experience to efficiently engage with your product. Unfortunately, product analytics tools are not designed for personalization and cannot often capture specific product behaviors, which can ultimately lead to customer churn.

The Value of Segmentation in Product Insights

Properly segmented product insights are the key to unlocking valuable engagements with your customers. A lot is happening within your product, but if your product analytics tool isn't robust enough to detect these nuances, they'll remain hidden. For instance, a major challenge a customer might be facing a particular feature that could go unnoticed without a robust analytics tool.

Don't Miss Another Touchpoint

Every interaction a user has with your product is a critical moment. Neglecting to support them during these moments puts you at risk of losing them forever. Your product analytics tool should not merely provide an overview of customer actions within your product; it should offer actionable insights and guidance to ensure users are successful. Settling for anything less poses a substantial risk to your customer relationships.

Conclusion

In a world where customer-centricity reigns supreme, using the right customer success platform, which offers product usage insights the way a customer success manager needs, has become imperative. While product analytics tools have their merits, they fall short in delivering the level of detail and personalization necessary for a truly exceptional customer experience. It's time to bridge the gap between product-focused analytics and customer-centric insights to create lasting and
mutually beneficial relationships with your customers.

A customer success platform tracks all interactions that a customer has with your business and your product, which makes it an ideal tool to drive and support your CS strategy. ZapScale is a customer success platform for B2B SaaS businesses to help them reduce churn, improve retention and increase upsell. Curious to know about ZapScale? Register for a free demo.