Product analytics maturation doesn’t look identical for every company, but there are factors that everyone should take into account before deciding what product analytics software is best for them.
Ask yourself (and/or your team) the following questions as you move through the stages of product analytics maturity:
- What’s the endgame? First, make sure that you really are looking for product analytics, not marketing analytics. Knowing what questions you’re hoping to ask of your data will help you narrow down the analytics software you can choose from. Have a framework for the metrics you want to measure, if you need guidance getting started read our Guide to Product Metrics.
- Who will be using the tool? Anyone who wants product data should have access to it. Therefore should you prioritize accessibility and those who stand to gain the most value from robust product analytics? Be sure to address buy-in, training and anything that could stand in the way of ROI.
- Have you put significant thought into what stage of product analytics maturity you’re in? Go through our product analytics maturity assessment again and make sure you’re being honest with yourself. If you don’t know where you are, you probably don’t know what you need.
- Where are you headed? Movement is possible, but you need to know how realistic that movement is. Are you ready to take the next step now, or do you expect to take it in a year? When you do, how will your current software scale or adapt?
- Who’s on board? If you’re the only one excited about product analytics and maturity, you have more work to do. Make sure that everyone involved in Product and Development understands the value of product analytics and related software.
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Looking to level up your product analytics maturity? Keep a few things in mind as you take your first steps forward.
You don’t have to crawl before you run
We want to clarify something: if you’re currently in a non-existent stage and want to achieve advanced product analytics maturity, you don’t have to start with Novice. Instead, use the product analytics maturity matrix to determine where you want to end up and the steps you must take to get there.
Identify new opportunities and changes.
The product analytics maturity model gives your business a framework for understanding the limits of your data right now and identifying areas for growth.
Drive new value and increase efficiency
Analytics is the foundation for a robust understanding of what makes users convert, engage, and retain in your product; it’s also the path towards business growth. Understanding the questions you want to answer will help you identify the nuances between the different stages—and help you identify where you must be in order to get value from your tools, teams, and processes.
Choose the right analytics tools
Knowing your stage of product analytics maturity can guide your choice of a product analytics platform that’s right for your current and future needs. “The value that you get out of any product analytics tool depends on the quality of your implementation,” Personal Capital’s VP of Product Management, Vince Maniago, told the Mixpanel team. If you don’t know what you have, it’s difficult to find the right platform to fit your needs.
Verify your data
Not all data is created equal. Taking the time to understand where your product analytics capabilities stand — and how that affects data collection and interpretation — means understanding if you can trust your data.
As long as you have buy-in from both leadership and your dev team, you can quickly go from Absent to Expert product analytics maturity. We’ll walk you through the rest.
How Mixpanel customers are advancing their product analytics strategy
Determine the metrics, KPIs and events you want to track first
Implementing more advanced product analytics with Mixpanel takes between 10 and 40 days, depending on the number of events you need to track. As you get ready for implementation, be prepared to answer these three questions:
- Do we already have the data, or do we need Mixpanel to collect it?
- Do we want Mixpanel to track behaviors on the client side or server side?
- Do we want to use a Mixpanel SDK? Or do we want to use our own?
In short, make sure you’re going after the right stats as you build out product analytics maturity.
Looking for a bit more guidance? Check out our guide to implementation.
It's never too late to advance
There’s no question when it comes to whether or not product analysis is useful. But there may be plenty of questions about the best time and way to choose product analytics software.
We hope that this guide has helped in determining where you are and where you want to be in the trajectory of product analytics maturity — and the tools and mindset you’ll need to get there.
Already a Mixpanel user?
By now, you’ve seen the power of Mixpanel.
Take the opportunity to take a deeper look at your data. Here are some ideas for how our customers double down with the Mixpanel platform:
- Look at the first event time — how are new users adopting your products?
- Use our Impact report to measure your KPIs after your recent product launch.
- Compare funnels to see how different groups convert in your product.
- Aggregate sessions to look at trends across user groups.
Check out these help articles or get in touch with your CSM if you have questions about going deeper with Mixpanel.
Why Mixpanel?
There’s no wrong time to improve your use of product analytics. Knowing where you stand in the progression of product analytics maturity guides and directs that use.
Mixpanel provides flexible and varied data that is accessible even to those who aren’t data scientists. Our platform is also scalable — we’re with you in the beginning when your reporting needs might be basic, and we will continue to support your growth well into the future.
Looking to level up your product analytics maturity? Set up a demo today.
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Where do you stand?
Use this matrix as a guide to understand the characteristics of your product analytics strategy at each stage and what’s needed to progress.
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