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Behavioural Analytics: A Journey Through the Data Jungle

Stuart Crawford

Welcome
Our journey through behavioural analytics follows a well-trodden path. Let's check out the main stages to find out more and grow your brands.

Behavioural Analytics: A Journey Through the Data Jungle

Welcome, adventurer! You're about to embark on an incredible journey through the wild world of behavioural analytics. Grab your machete and trusty notebook because we'll be hacking through thickets of data, uncovering hidden insights, and occasionally stopping to marvel at the wondrous creatures that inhabit this fascinating ecosystem. Just remember, in the land of behavioural analytics, the only thing more dangerous than a 90% bounce rate is a pun lurking in the underbrush.

The Elusive Nature of Human Behaviour

Human behaviour is as unpredictable as a cat on catnip and just as hard to track. Yet, behavioural analytics aims to do just that – capture, analyse, and understand the actions of users within a specific context. To tackle this Herculean task, we rely on the following:

Quantitative data:

What Is Quantitative Data

It may not be the most exciting, but it's reliable and meaningful when analysing user behaviour and identifying patterns.

Quantitative data is all about numbers – measuring and quantifying how many people visit a website, how long they stay on a page, or how many products they buy. By collecting and analysing this kind of data, we can gain valuable insights into user behaviour and make data-driven decisions that help improve our products or services.

And the great thing about quantitative data is that it's objective and can be easily replicated. Unlike subjective data, based on opinions or emotions, quantitative data is based on complex numbers that can be verified and used to predict future behaviour.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review, companies that use data-driven decision-making are more likely to outperform their competitors. In the survey, 67% of high-performing companies reported using data to guide their decisions, compared to only 49% of low-performing companies.

So the next time you collect data, consider the power of quantitative data. It may not be the life of the party, but it's a reliable and valuable friend when it comes to making informed decisions.

Qualitative data:

While quantitative data gives us numbers and statistics, qualitative data helps us understand the “why” behind those numbers.

So, what is qualitative data exactly? It's a way of collecting and analysing non-numerical data like opinions, feelings, and experiences. This kind of data is precious because it helps us understand the human side and get a complete picture of user behaviour.

Gather qualitative data; there are a variety of methods you can use. One standard method is user interviews – in-depth conversations with users where you ask open-ended questions to get their thoughts and opinions. Surveys are another great way to collect qualitative data – they allow you to reach more people and get a sense of common themes and patterns.

Direct observation is another method that can yield valuable qualitative data. You can gain insights into their behaviours, frustrations, and needs by watching users interact with a product or service in real time.

Some might think qualitative data is too subjective or unreliable, but that's false. When collected and analysed correctly, qualitative data can be as robust as quantitative data in guiding decision-making.

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A study published in the Journal of Business Research found that combining qualitative and quantitative data led to better decision-making outcomes than just one data type alone.

So, if you want to understand the “why” behind your data, don't forget the power of qualitative data. It may not give you the hard numbers, but it can give you invaluable insights into the human side.

Charting a Course: The Behavioural Analytics Process

Our journey through behavioural analytics follows a well-trodden path. Let's check out the main stages:

1 – Defining Goals and KPIs

Facebook Marketing Goals 1

Think of it like a roadmap – if you need to know where you're going, you'll likely need help. By defining clear goals and KPIs, we establish a destination and can measure our progress as we work towards it.

So what are goals and KPIs exactly? A goal is a specific outcome or achievement that you want to reach. It's what you're ultimately working towards. A KPI, on the other hand, is a measurable value that indicates how well you're progressing towards that goal.

For example, let's say you want to improve user engagement on a website. Your goal might be to increase overall user engagement. Your KPI, in this case, could be to increase the average session duration by 20%. This gives you a specific target and a way to measure your progress.

It's important to note that your goals and KPIs should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This means they should be well-defined, easy to track, realistic, aligned with your objectives, and have a deadline.

By defining clear goals and KPIs, you can stay focused and motivated and ensure you progress towards what matters. It also helps you prioritise tasks and allocate resources more effectively.

In fact, according to a study by the Harvard Business Review, companies that set clear, well-defined goals and KPIs are ten times more likely to achieve their objectives than those that don't.

If you're working on a project or initiative, take the time to define your goals and KPIs. It may seem small, but it can make a big difference in your success.

2 – Data Collection

Once you've set your goals and KPIs, the next step is gathering the data to help you achieve them. This stage involves instrumenting your environment and adding tracking codes to websites or apps to collect the necessary data.

Selecting the right tools for the job is also crucial. Various data collection tools are available, ranging from simple web analytics tools like Google Analytics to more advanced tools like Mixpanel that track user behaviour in real time.

It's important to choose tools that align with your goals and KPIs. For example, if your goal is to increase conversions on your website, you'll want to use a tool that allows you to track user behaviour throughout the conversion funnel. To improve user engagement, you'll want a tool that provides insights into how users interact with your website or app.

But data collection isn't just about selecting the right tools – it's also about being mindful of the data you're collecting. Collecting too much data can be overwhelming and make it difficult to identify meaningful insights. On the other hand, collecting too little data can leave you with blind spots and gaps in your understanding.

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That's why it's essential to focus on collecting the most relevant data to your goals and KPIs. This means thinking carefully about the metrics you want to track and the insights you hope to gain from them.

By collecting the correct data, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour and make data-driven decisions that help you achieve your goals. In fact, according to a study by McKinsey & Company, companies that use data to drive decision-making are 1.5 times more likely to report revenue growth than those that don't.

So if you want to make informed decisions, consider the importance of data collection. By instrumenting your environment and selecting the right tools, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour and make data-driven decisions that help you achieve your goals.

3 – Data Analysis

Best Ecommerce Analytics Tools

Once you've collected your data, the next step is to analyse it. Data analysis involves examining your data to identify patterns, anomalies, and trends that can help you gain insights into user behaviour and make informed decisions.

You can use various techniques and tools for data analysis, ranging from basic statistical methods to more advanced machine-learning algorithms. The key is to choose the approach that best aligns with your goals and the data you've collected.

One common approach to data analysis is to slice and dice the data. This means breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces that can be easily analysed. For example, suppose you're analysing website traffic data. In that case, you might slice the data by traffic source (e.g., organic search, social media, paid advertising) to better understand where your traffic is coming from.

Another technique is to identify patterns and trends in the data. For example, certain pages on your website have a higher bounce rate than others, indicating that users are leaving the site without engaging further. By identifying this pattern, you can improve those pages and keep users on your site longer.

Anomalies can also be valuable to identify. These data points fall outside the norm and can provide valuable insights into unexpected user behaviour. For example, you might notice a sudden spike in traffic to a particular page on your website – this could be a sign that something significant has happened (e.g., a news article or social media post went viral) that's driving traffic to your site.

By analysing your data, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour and make data-driven decisions that help you achieve your goals.

4 – Hypothesis Formation

Once you've analysed your data and identified patterns and trends, the next step is forming hypotheses about why certain behaviours occur. Hypothesis formation involves taking the insights gained from your data analysis and using them to develop a theory about what might be causing those behaviours.

For example, let's say you've noticed that users leave your website without engaging further. Your hypothesis might be that they need help finding the information they need. This is just one possible explanation – there could be many other factors at play – but it gives you a starting point to work from.

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The key to forming a reasonable hypothesis is to base it on the data you've collected and the insights you've gained from your analysis. Your theory should be grounded in observable phenomena and testable – that is, you should be able to gather additional data to confirm or refute it.

It's also important to keep an open mind when forming hypotheses. It's easy to jump to conclusions or assume you know what's causing a particular behaviour. Still, it's essential to consider multiple explanations and be willing to revise your hypothesis as you gather more data.

By forming hypotheses, you can better understand user behaviour and develop targeted strategies to improve your product or service. A study found that companies that use data-driven hypotheses to guide their decision-making are likelier to report revenue growth than those that don't.

5 – Experimentation

A/b Testing Target Audience

Once you've formed your hypotheses about user behaviour, the next step is to test them through experimentation. Experimentation involves conducting tests, such as A/B tests, to gather additional data and analyse the results.

A/B testing is a common technique that involves comparing two versions of a product or website to see which one performs better. For example, test two landing pages to see which results in more conversions.

You can gather data to confirm or refute your hypotheses by conducting experiments. If your theory is confirmed, you can implement changes to optimise user behaviour. For example, suppose you hypothesised that users were leaving your website because they couldn't find the needed information, and your experiment showed that a new navigation menu improved user engagement. In that case, you might implement that change across your site.

If your hypothesis is not confirmed, that's okay – it's all part of the experimentation process. You can use your gathered data to develop new theories and conduct additional experiments to test them.

The key to successful experimentation is to be systematic and data-driven. This means developing clear hypotheses, designing experiments that can test those hypotheses, and analysing the results to gain insights and make data-driven decisions.

6 – Iteration

After you've conducted experiments and analysed the results, it's time to iterate. Iteration involves refining your hypotheses and experiments to understand user behaviour better and improve performance.

The key to successful iteration is to be agile and responsive. This means using the insights you gain from your experiments to make quick, data-driven decisions and adjust your approach as needed.

For example, your initial hypothesis was that users left your website because they couldn't find the needed information. You conduct an A/B test and see that a new navigation menu improves user engagement. You implement the change across your site but continue monitoring user behaviour and collecting data.

As you gather more data, you might notice that users are still leaving your site at a particular stage in the conversion funnel. You develop a new hypothesis and conduct another experiment to test it. If the results confirm your idea, you implement changes to improve the user experience. Return to the drawing board and develop a new theory if needed.

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By continuously iterating on your hypotheses and experiments, you can gain a deeper understanding of user behaviour and identify new opportunities for improvement. This can lead to better performance, increased user engagement, and higher conversion rates.

A Menagerie of Metrics: The Creatures of Behavioral Analytics

In the behavioural analytics jungle, many metrics roam the landscape. Here are just a few of the most intriguing species:

  • Bounce Rate: The percentage of users who visit a site and leave after viewing just one page. A high bounce rate may indicate poor user experience or irrelevant content.
  • Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who complete a desired action (e.g., purchasing or signing up for a newsletter). A critical measure of a site's effectiveness.
  • Time on Site: The average time users spend on a site. Often used as a proxy for user engagement.

Tools of the Trade: A Behavioral Analyst's Survival Kit

Woocommerce Google Analytics Pro Shopping Behavior Analysis

In our journey through the behavioural analytics jungle, we'll need a trusty set of tools to help us navigate the terrain. Here are some essentials to have in your survival kit:

  • Google Analytics: This versatile workhorse is the go-to tool for many behavioural analysts. It offers a wealth of data on user behaviour, traffic sources, and more.
  • Mixpanel: A powerful analytics platform that tracks user interactions within websites and apps. With its advanced segmentation capabilities, Mixpanel is particularly adept at uncovering deep insights.
  • Hotjar: This nifty tool lets you visualise user behaviour through heatmaps, session recordings, and conversion funnels. It's like having a window into your users' minds (but less creepy).

The Art of Storytelling: Turning Data Into Insights

Success Branding Storytelling

As we journey through the data jungle, it's essential to remember that our ultimate goal is to tell a story. This story will help stakeholders understand user behaviour and make informed decisions. Here are some tips for crafting compelling data stories:

  • Focus on the “so what?”: Always link your findings to their implications. For example, don't just say, “Bounce rate increased by 10%”; explain how this impacts user engagement and the bottom line.
  • Be visual: Use charts, graphs, and other visual aids to make your data more accessible and engaging. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand data points.
  • Please keep it simple: Avoid getting lost in the weeds. Focus on the most critical insights and present them clearly and concisely.

The Ethical Side of Behavioral Analytics

As we explore the wild world of behavioural analytics, it's essential to remember that with great power comes great responsibility. Here are some ethical considerations to keep in mind:

  • Privacy: Always be transparent about your data collection practices and respect users' privacy preferences.
  • Inclusivity: Be mindful of potential biases in your data and strive to create inclusive experiences for all users.
  • Honesty: Avoid cherry-picking data or presenting misleading findings. Always strive for truth and accuracy in your analyses.

Conclusion

Congratulations, explorer! You've successfully navigated the treacherous terrain of behavioural analytics and emerged with a wealth of knowledge about this fascinating field. As you continue your adventures, remember that the key to success in behavioural analytics lies in asking the right questions, digging deep into the data, and keeping a sense of humour along the way. After all, in the wild world of analytics, it's always a jungle out there.

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Written By
Stuart Crawford
Stuart Crawford is an award-winning creative director and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience building memorable and influential brands. As Creative Director at Inkbot Design, a leading branding agency, Stuart oversees all creative projects and ensures each client receives a customised brand strategy and visual identity.

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