SUMMARY
With AI and machine learning ruling the roost, we have officially arrived in the age of powerful information investigation
‘Knowledge is power’ and today that same thing could be said about data, especially when it comes to product development
Constant feedback is also a big part of being able to understand how your users are feeling about your product
Gone are the days when instinct or trial-and-error was the only way you could drive your business forward. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find any business that doesn’t have a well-oiled data analysis machinery, that’s constantly churning and studying every aspect of your operations to drive the highest level of proficiency.
With AI and machine learning ruling the roost, we have officially arrived in the age of powerful information investigation. Sitting at the heart of this era is data. In fact, the demand for analytics and data science is so indisputable that in August of this year, India contributed 10% of the total global analytics job openings.
‘Knowledge is power’ and today that same thing could be said about data, especially when it comes to product development. 2020 was a defining moment for most businesses as it forever altered the way consumers interact with products or services. And without technology, there would be no way to manually evaluate, understand, and track this change in a comprehensive and finite manner.
Data analytics to product development simply means product enhancement. It is the most powerful tool you can use to fine-tune your product to its most efficient and effective state. This is especially true in a B2C model given the dynamic nature of consumer behaviour. While that’s a broader understanding of the importance of data in product development or management, let’s take a look at a few key reasons why it really is indispensable.
Insight-Driven Decision Making
Using tools such as Firebase/Google Analytics, Moengage, and CleverTap you can keep an eye on how your users are interacting with your features, how many of them are converting, and even the way your users use your features. Additionally, Firebase has a great way to run A/B tests that let you get a better understanding of the impact of feature improvements, before releasing it to your entire user base.
Product Roadmap Prioritization
You’ve launched your app, things are going great and in an effort to sustain the harmony you either optimise it to the fullest or try to keep things slightly more vanilla, so as to not jinx the progress made so far. But, suddenly you start seeing your engagement rate gradually declining and your users seem to be dropping like flies. Is something not working?
Are you doing too much or too little? Analytics is the best and fastest way to get you those answers. It plays a crucial role in devising your product roadmap giving you the necessary intelligence needed to narrow it down to an almost science. It will help you prioritise features and updates while giving you an understanding of your product’s current scenario and what you need to do to get it to where you want it to be.
Refined Customer Feedback
Constant feedback is also a big part of being able to understand how your users are feeling about your product. Teaming up with your customer to accelerate and enhance your product R&D is a great way to get sampled insights for questions that can only be answered through targeted data acquisition. Surveying customers can help you develop, remove, or plan for features that your users actually enjoy while not wasting time on those that have no value addition.
Inspiration
Data is a great way to stay ahead of the curve and build a platform that not just listens to its users but uses the information at hand to provide them with a truly innovative experience. This data and feedback can be a pool of inspiration that’s just waiting to be tapped. A combination of quantitative and qualitative insight can help refocus the product strategy to drive improvements and adjustments that provide value in the long-run.
Forecasting Future Trends
Sometimes it’s important to come out of your bubble and listen to what’s going on around you. Making decisions that go from reactive based improvements to proactively seeking opportunities to evolve is what your ultimate product management goal should be.
This is where third-party intent-driven data insights could be especially useful. You can look at it as your personal crystal ball, helping you predict what users are looking for in the ecosystem you are functioning in. Opportunities to generate real customer satisfaction are closely interlinked with how swiftly you can roll-out features and updates that align your platform with the most current customer demands.
Ensuring business longevity and scalability is a core function of the product team. Without analytics and data lead insights, product teams would have to rely on a shot-in-the-dark approach, without ever being able to fully understand if the end-customer actually appreciated, utilised, or even for that matter understood the features and updates of their product.
Your best shot at success is to work with a product strategy that is rooted in data and provides you with the necessary tools to scale your product rapidly. Once mastered, data will help you drive a more heightened user engagement and experience creating a platform that truly is steeped in knowledge and understanding.
