Choosing the Right Visualizations in Product Analytics Tools for User Behavior Analysis
Analyzing user behavior on your application is critical for making informed business decisions. To achieve this, companies often rely on tools like Mixpanel and Clevertap, which offer various visualization options to interpret user data effectively.
In this guide, we explore which chart type to use for different types of questions.
Product Analytics Tools: Types of Charts
Product analytics tools primarily provide three types of charts:
- Insights Chart
- Funnels
- Flows
1. Insights Chart
Purpose: Insights charts are ideal for answering deterministic, single-event questions. These questions focus on specific data points and are independent of one another. Common chart types include bar charts, trend lines, and pie charts.
Use Cases: Insights charts can help answer questions like:
- How many users logged into the app in the last 7 days?
- What are the daily, weekly, and monthly active user counts?
- What is the proportion of users by operating system (e.g., iOS vs. Android)?
- How many users have updated to the latest version of the app?
Example: Imagine you want to track app engagement over the past month. A trend line chart in Insights can reveal whether user activity is increasing or decreasing daily, helping identify patterns or anomalies that require action.
2. Funnels Chart
Purpose: Funnels are used to analyze user drop-off at different steps of a process. This helps identify where users lose interest or face friction, enabling you to optimize these steps.
Example Scenario: Consider a mutual fund provider’s app with the following process:
- Sign up using a mobile number.
- Provide personal information.
- Accept terms and conditions.
- Upload KYC documents with a selfie video.
- Wait for KYC approval.
Suppose 1,000 users opened the app, and the following occurred:
- 800 signed up.
- 700 provided personal information.
- 650 accepted the terms and conditions.
- 130 uploaded the KYC documents.
- 110 had their KYC approved.
You can calculate the drop-off rate for each step:
Drop-off Rate = (Users at Step A - Users at Step B) / Users at Step A × 100
For instance, from Step 1 to Step 2: (1,000 - 800) / 1,000 × 100 = 20%
Example
Insights:
- A 20% drop-off at the sign-up stage may indicate the need for improved engagement, such as offering incentives like “Sign up today and get ₹10 off your registration fee.”
- A significant drop-off between Steps 4 and 5 (80% abandon rate) may suggest simplifying the selfie video requirement, potentially replacing it with a video call.
3. Flow Chart
Purpose: Flow charts visualize user journeys, showing the paths users take within your app. Unlike Funnels or Insights, Flow charts highlight deviations, backtracking, or unexpected behaviors.
Use Case: In the mutual fund example:
- Users are expected to proceed linearly (Step 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5). However, deviations or loops might occur, indicating confusion or friction.
- A Flow chart can show the percentage of users who, for instance, return to the personal information screen after reaching the terms and conditions step.
Example: After providing personal information, users should ideally move to accept the terms and conditions. If many users return to the previous screen, the Flow chart highlights this behavior, enabling businesses to identify and address pain points to reduce friction.
Conclusion
Understanding the purpose and use cases of product analytics charts—Insights, Funnels, and Flows—is key to making informed, data-driven decisions.
- Use Insights for answering specific questions about single events.
- Use Funnels to identify drop-offs and optimize the user journey.
- Use Flows to visualize user behavior across steps and spot unexpected patterns.
By selecting the right chart for the right question, you can unlock valuable insights and enhance your app’s user experience effectively.