Data Analytics is a key pillar in the foundation of product development apart from customer feedback. With so much of data available that can be collected through multiple tools and technologies, companies ideally shape the product basis the data and not hunches. Even today the UI or the UX or the design of the user experience is solely based on the data that is collected. Where is the user clicking, where is the user not clicking, is there a fall in the user traffic, is there a surge in the user traffic, is engagement high , is engagement low, every bit of data is being used and analyzed for the purpose of the development of the product. Many businesses like Bada Business collect a lot of data to see where user drop outs are happening and scrutinize where and why the user is dropping out and proceed to rectify the lacunas.
When a product is being made, is being launched or even in an existing product a lot of market research is conducted to understand how the product is performing. Leveraging this data can be critical in shaping and defining the product journey. Market research with your target audience becomes very crucial when a product is being launched. It is imperative to understand what the customer needs and what his pain points are, how is he going to use the product, how will it benefit him. Hence using the data and doing the market research is the first step in launching a product successfully.
Use of data next comes in the aspect of customer feedback. User feedback can be obtained implicitly and explicitly, both being equally vital. Explicit feedback comes when customers are asked to fill in forms and surveys and data is collected directly. Implicit data comes through tracking the user behavior by apps, Google analytics, Mo Engage and similar platforms to understand how the user is clicking. Where is the user dropping off and where the user is sticking. Both these exercises provide very important insights in the product development journey to understand where the product needs tweaking and fixing.
The next important area of data analytics in the role of product management is the study of product performance. A lot of data will be collected about how your product is performing in terms of where the user is clicking, where the button is playing a role, where the user is dropping off, where the user is sticking, where is the engagement high if new features are rolled out. So study of consumer behavior is used to understand and improve product performance. This study of data also helps companies figure out if the product is aligned with the objectives. The impact it is having on sales, user convenience and finally on conversion. Like many businesses when in Bada Business the sales automation was launched a five times’ growth was witnessed in the revenue in just five months. Driving these kind of impacts are possible only by constantly analyzing the product, the performance, the user feedback and market research.
Lastly, product development is fundamentally based on data and how accurately you analyze the data and how you leverage the data will define the product development in terms of the bugs, the features you want to enhance, the innovations you want to launch. Using the data rightly you are bound to create a very sticky, engaging and a successful product.
(This article is written by Gyan Gupta, Product Evangelist, Bada Business, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
