Product usage analytics

Product usage analytics shows how people actually use your software or service. It records events such as logging in, creating a project or using a particular feature, and presents them as charts and per-customer timelines. For example, you might see that customers who invite a colleague in the first week are far more likely to keep using the product, and that one client has stopped using the main feature. ChurnZero, Custify, Gainsight, Planhat, Totango, Userpilot and Vitally are tools in the library that list this feature.

Opinions about what customers value are often wrong, and usage data replaces them with evidence. It helps customer success teams spot accounts that are drifting away, helps product teams see which features matter and helps sales teams find customers ready for an upgrade. You need it when you sell a product that customers log in to. You do not need it for a service business with no product to track.

• How usage data gets in, whether through a code snippet, an API or an import from another tool.
• Whether usage is shown per account as well as per individual user.
• How far back history goes and whether older data is kept when you change plan.
• Whether usage data can trigger alerts or workflows, or is only available in reports.