Your Users Want Insights - An Intro to Embedded Analytics
By: Matt Greener — VP of Marketing
We all want our users to get results.
We want them to spend more time on our platform and see data that reinforces the value they are receiving each time they log in.
Have you ever wondered if embedded analytics could help?
At Keen we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how embedded analytics can enrich the end-user experience for our customers’ platforms, but what exactly does “embedded analytics” refer to?
An excerpt from Gartner defines embedded analytics as, “The use of reporting and analytic capabilities in transactional business applications. These capabilities must be easily accessible from inside the application, without forcing users to switch between systems.”
All analytics provide data, but in a world drowning in data the data itself is not necessarily valuable. It’s relevant and contextual information in the form of personalized user dashboards and other visual representations that ultimately allow users to analyze, answer questions, and improve results without having to leave the app.
So why embedded analytics, and why now?
The need for embedded or “native” analytics is steadily expanding — one study found that nearly 90% of UK and US application decision makers are planning on investing in embedded analytics in the next 12 months. And the business implications are massive. In a similar study, 90% of the app teams surveyed reported a reduction in customer churn and 91% reported improving win rates due to embedded analytics. Additionally, 68% said that they can charge more for their product because of the added value embedded analytics brings.
Additionally, users have begun to expect personalized data when they engage with consumer and business applications. Any well-meaning mother could tell you we’re attached to our apps — we’ve grown accustomed to instant access to huge amounts of information at the touch of a button on any laptop, tablet, or mobile device. Details related to our online behaviors have become commonplace with the infinite rise of social media and this has driven us to expect companies to observe our preferences, our actions, and to tailor a personal experience.
Some companies are using embedded analytics to enhance the usage of their services. Pixlee helps huge brands like Marriott and Levi’s curate & display customer content from their biggest fans. They use embedded analytics to show increased shopping cart conversion.
Next Big Sound (NBS) studies the popularity of musicians by tracking data on their popularity from various platforms, like social media, radio, or streaming services. They use this data to help their customers, like advertisers or record labels, understand why certain songs are played more than others, and to help cultivate future musical successes. NBS recently launched a partnership with Spotify that extends these services to artists, who can use this data to understand how impactful their music is and for their own promotion.
In IoT, devices like FitBit or other health trackers owe their success in part to effective data visualization. When you wear one they track several aspects of fitness activity like the steps you take, your rate of recovery and aspects of your sleep habits, such as oxygen intake. Having instant access to the historical and present data concerning your health is a major reason to wear such a device.
Similarly, the app MapMyFitness tracks where you’ve gone by tracing a map on your mobile device or computer. It tells you things like how many calories you burned, which hills you climbed and how steep they were, how you rank compared to other runners or bikers, lets you connect to them, and find new routes, among other things. And there are hundreds and thousands of other apps all tracking and reporting back usage and results anytime a user logs in.
For these reasons embedding analytics into your applications is no longer an option and it’s beyond being expected. Instead, it’s become a source of competitive advantage. Imagine the reactions of your users when you begin providing them with the information and insights they’ve been craving — we think it may look something like this:
We’d love to hear how you use analytics to improve applications for your users. Tweet us @keen_io.
