Customer analytics software

If you’ve ever dropped your keys in a dark room, you know how difficult and frustrating it is to find them. Well, running a business without utilizing analytics software is a similar situation. Without this kind of tool, you’re operating in the dark and making the job harder than it needs to be.

A customer analytics platform serves as the spotlight you need to find the key to improving your operations. The right analytics tool makes it easy to understand who your customers are, what they want, and how you can deliver it. Read on to learn more about analytics and how the best software providers can help you improve the customer experience (CX).

More in this guide:

• What is customer analytics software?
• Customer analytics tools comparison chart
• The 11 best customer analytics software
• Features to look for in the best customer analytics platform
• How to choose the right customer analytics solution
• Frequently asked questions
• Choose the best overall customer analytics software

Customer analytics software is a business intelligence solution that helps companies analyze and understand customers’ behavior and preferences. It uses data from customer touchpoints to provide insights into customer trends so companies can optimize their operations.

Analytics help you make informed operational decisions and cater to your customers’ expectations. Without accurate customer analytics, your business will have to guess what customers want through trial and error. According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2023, almost three-quarters of customers will abandon your company after multiple bad experiences, which could be extremely costly. Analytics software can help you get it right from the start. Here are some of the most common types of customer analytics: Descriptive analytics: Assesses previous customer actions. Diagnostic analytics: Determines why customers behave in a particular way. Predictive analytics: Forecasts what customers might do in the future. Prescriptive analytics: Recommends what to do in the future.

Check out some of the best customer analytics tools for tracking the customer journey, analyzing feedback, and measuring performance.

1. Zendesk

Zendesk is a leading provider of customer experience solutions, and our customer analytics software is no exception. We offer a powerful tool for businesses looking to understand and optimize their customer interactions.

Our reporting solution integrates data from every channel—email, live chat, social media, and voice—so you can measure how customers interact with your brand without losing the thread. You can compare performance across channels, spot trends in real time, and make adjustments immediately. Users can access and share historical data in reports, allowing the team and related departments to collaborate on process improvements.

Our Zendesk Marketplace houses an extensive library of integrations compatible with other tools, such as e-commerce and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, so you can unify data across all your systems. Pre-built and customizable dashboards let you visualize data in real time with charts, enabling you to monitor performance and manage your workforce.

We also embrace the power of AI to enhance the automation tools your team needs to work efficiently. Automated processes help categorize and prioritize customer inquiries, analyze customer sentiment, and provide quick responses tailored to the customer. Our customer analytics software is a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to deliver exceptional customer service and engagement while harnessing the power of data-driven insights.

Features:

• Omnichannel analytics
• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• Data exports
• Dashboard sharing
• Visual data alerts
• Omnichannel Agent Workspace
• 1,500+ apps and integrations
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Ticketing system
• Google Analytics for help center

Pricing:

• Suite Team: $55 per agent/month
• Suite Growth: $89 per agent/month
• Suite Professional: $115 per agent/month
• Suite Enterprise: Contact Zendesk
• Suite Enterprise Plus: Contact Zendesk
  *Plans are billed annually.

• Start a free trial
• View pricing
• Request a demo
• Take a product tour
• Evaluate the ROI of Zendesk

Free trial:

14 days

2. Zoho PageSense

Zoho PageSense is a web analytics and conversion optimization software. Teams can segment their customers into distinct groups, like demographics, location, and behavior.

PageSense has heatmaps that provide visual insights into how users interact with a website by highlighting the webpage areas that receive the most attention, like clicks and scrolling. Businesses can also create and track custom metrics to measure the performance of specific elements or actions on their websites.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• Heatmaps

Pricing:

• Analyze: Starts at $12 per month
• Engage: Starts at $18 per month
• Optimize: Starts at $30 per month
  *Plans are billed annually and pricing is for 10,000 monthly visitors.

Free trial:

15 days

3. Woopra

Woopra is a customer analytics and engagement platform. Its automation tools can help teams automate marketing and customer engagement tasks, like using action triggers to administer feedback surveys or follow-up emails.

Woopra provides pre-built reports and dashboards to visualize customer data. These reports cover metrics on user engagement, conversion rates, and customer behavior. They can also track the customer journey, providing insights into pain points that may get in the way of campaign conversions.

Features:

• Omnichannel analytics
• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Customer profiles

Pricing:

• Core: $0 per month (core analytics only)
• Pro: $999 per month
• Enterprise: Contact Woopra

Free trial:

14 days

Learn about the Woopra integration for Zendesk.

4. UXCam

UXCam provides customer analysis tools for mobile apps. The software can automatically detect user sentiment by tracking gestures on the screen, like if a customer angrily taps a button.

Businesses can create multiple dashboards, with the option to use pre-built templates and receive real-time data updates. UXCam can record visitor sessions so teams can replay interactions and see where customers encountered issues. Users can divide reports by customer segments, including returning or churning customers.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• Session replays

Pricing:

• Free: $0 per month (1 dashboard)
• Growth: Contact UXCam
• Enterprise: Contact UXCam

Free trial:

14 days

5. Tableau

Tableau is a business intelligence and analytics software from Salesforce. It provides omnichannel performance, allowing organizations to gather data from various sources and channels, including databases, spreadsheets, and cloud-based services. Tableau provides an option for scheduled data refreshes and report distribution so teams can see up-to-date information without the need for manual action.

Businesses can set up alerts and triggers to be notified of specific events or changes in data, reducing the need for manual monitoring. Tableau leverages Salesforce’s AI technology, enabling businesses to tap into predictive analytics. However, the AI is not ready out of the box and doesn’t come with pre-trained AI models specific to CX. So, it can require time and additional developer resources to set it up to your specifications.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• AI-powered predictions

Pricing:

• Tableau Viewer: $15 per user/month
• Tableau Explorer: $42 per user/month
• Tableau Creator: $75 per user/month
  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

14 days

Learn about the Tableau Connector integration for Zendesk.

6. Plausible

Plausible is an open-source customer analytics platform that positions itself as an alternative to Google Analytics. It offers simple tools for businesses to get the information they desire without the unnecessarily large analytics scripts that can slow down websites.

It doesn’t track cookies or collect personal data, protecting user privacy. Base pricing includes analytics tracking on up to 50 websites, with the option to add more. Businesses can also set reports to automatically generate at certain periods and send notifications when traffic spikes.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• Traffic spike notifications

Pricing:

• Growth: Starts at $90 per year
• Business: Starts at $190 per year
  * Plans are billed annually and pricing reflects 10,000 monthly page views.

Free trial:

30 days

7. Mixpanel

Mixpanel lets businesses collect granular data on user interactions, offering insight into how customers engage with websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms. This data collection isn’t limited to page views and clicks, either. The software enables tracking of specific user actions, helping businesses understand the exact steps customers take in their interactions.

Mixpanel also offers automated alerts that can provide businesses with real-time notifications about important events or user behavior. Customized alerts can monitor specific events or conditions, like a sudden drop in user engagement or a surge in sign-ups.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• Dashboard TV streaming

Pricing:

• Starter: $0 per month (no group analytics)
• Growth: Starts at $20 per month
• Enterprise: Starts at $833 per month

Free trial:

Unavailable

8. Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics is a customer data analytics solution. Its A/B testing feature lets users run experiments to compare different versions of (and engagement with) a web page, email campaign, or other marketing initiative.

Customer activity tracking can help businesses monitor and record customer behavior across their digital channels. This includes tracking user journeys, event interactions, and funnel analysis, which can provide insights into how customers navigate websites and apps. Kissmetrics also has revenue reports that show the correlation between specific marketing campaigns, customer behaviors, and revenue generation.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Real-time and historical data
• A/B testing
• Multichannel attribution

Pricing:

• Pay As You Go: $0.0025 per event
• Silver: $199 per month
• Gold: $499 per month
• Platinum: Custom pricing
  *Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

Unavailable

9. Hotjar

By signing up for a basic plan for any of Hotjar’s products, users get access to basic tools from the other analytics plans. The software can help businesses gather user feedback through on-site surveys, polls, and feedback forms for insight into customer sentiments and preferences.

Businesses can record and replay customer sessions to observe how customers interact with their websites or applications firsthand. Additionally, Hotjar provides funnel analysis, which can analyze the customer journey to identify drop-off points and bottlenecks in the conversion process.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• Heatmaps

Pricing:

• Observe Basic: $0 per month (35 daily sessions)
• Observe Plus: $32 per month (100 daily sessions)
• Observe Business: Starts at $80 per month (500 daily sessions)
• Observe Scale: Starts at $171 per month (500 daily sessions)
• Ask Basic: $0 per month (20 monthly responses)
• Ask Plus: $48 per month (250 monthly responses)
• Ask Business: Starts at $64 per month (500 monthly responses)
• Ask Scale: Starts at $128 per month (500 monthly responses)
  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

15 days

10. Google Analytics

Google Analytics offers automated insights that can highlight trends and changes in data, while automatic alerts can help businesses identify shifts in user behavior. Google Analytics can also let users create custom views of their data to track KPIs and other relevant business objectives.

The platform utilizes machine learning algorithms for deeper insights into data. For example, the tool can predict user behavior, segment audiences based on their likelihood to convert, and suggest improvements to website performance.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• Machine learning

Pricing:

• Google Analytics: $0 per month
• Google Analytics 360: Contact Google

Free trial:

Unavailable

11. Amplitude

Amplitude is a product analytics platform that uses machine learning to automate user data analysis. Businesses can use the information to identify trends and patterns in user behavior and understand what drives product engagement.

The platform’s collaboration tools allow product managers, designers, marketers, and engineers to collaborate on product updates. Additionally, Amplitude provides data quality checks so that analyzed data is accurate and reliable.

Features:

• Pre-built and customizable dashboards
• Customer segmentation
• Sharing and collaboration
• Real-time and historical data
• AI and automation
• A/B testing

Pricing:

• Starter: $0 per month (no custom events)
• Plus: $49 per month
• Growth: Contact Amplitude
• Enterprise: Contact Amplitude
  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

Unavailable

Customer analytics software has many broad applications. But to give you the best return on your investment, it needs to deliver on the following key functionalities.

Omnichannel analytics

Your analytics need to account for all your customer interactions for it to provide accurate data. This includes customer activity on your website, mobile app, social channels, and call center. Analytics software with omnichannel capabilities lets teams easily collect and analyze data from various sources in a centralized location and helps ensure that all valuable insights are explored.

For example, Mailchimp tracks customer service data across channels to find out which features customers need the most. The company then uses those insights to build products with better functionality.

Real-time and historical data

Real-time reporting empowers organizations to monitor key help desk metrics, track user behavior, and assess the impact of marketing campaigns as they happen. This agility allows businesses to quickly adapt strategies, address challenges, and capitalize on opportunities, improving customer experiences and operational efficiency. Historical data archives allow you to compare current and past activity to determine if emerging trends are related to greater operational patterns.

Pre-built and customizable dashboards

Pre-built dashboards provide a quick and convenient overview of key metrics, so you can gain immediate insights without extensive setup. Customizable dashboards extend their utility by enabling you to tailor data visualizations to your specific needs, incorporating metrics and KPIs that align with your unique goals and objectives. The combination of pre-built and customizable options provides a balance between efficiency and adaptability.

Sharing and collaboration

When different departments can access and interpret the same data, it promotes a unified understanding of business objectives and performance metrics. Collaboration tools can streamline information sharing and improve the quality of decision-making by drawing on diverse perspectives. Moreover, they encourage open communication and transparency, helping teams to work cohesively and promptly act on support tickets—this is essential for achieving the best possible customer experiences and operational efficiencies.

Customer segmentation

Customer segmentation categorizes customers into distinct groups based on attributes like demographics, behavior, and preferences. Segmentation allows you to tailor your marketing efforts, product offerings, and customer experiences to specific customers, so you can deliver more personalized and relevant content. By analyzing and understanding these segments, you can optimize your strategies, increase customer engagement, and drive higher conversion rates.

AI and automation

Automation accelerates data gathering by collecting and organizing information from different sources in real time (or near real time), reducing the risk of data silos or delays. AI-powered tools can further enhance data interpretation by recognizing patterns and extracting meaningful insights from large datasets that might be challenging to process manually. It can even go so far as to recommend the next steps for resolving emerging issues.

For example, Sprout Solutions initially created reports manually, but it became difficult for the team to keep up with data analysis when they experienced rapid growth. Using automated reports from Zendesk allowed Sprout to track all of its activity, leading to informed decision-making without monopolizing agents’ time with data collection.

A lot is riding on the performance of your customer analytics tools. Make sure you’re partnering with a solution that can live up to its promises. Here are some tips to guide you through the software selection process.

Consider the total cost of ownership and time to value

Customer analytics software vendors charge for their services in various ways. While some offer traditional billing practices, like a flat monthly fee, others will charge based on your activity. If you choose the latter and you have high traffic on your site, you will see an increase in the total cost of using the service. In this case, a flat fee may provide your business with more value.

Similarly, you should consider how quickly the software can be fully operational. If you have to write unique code to integrate the service with your system, or if your team must undergo extensive training to learn the new system, you may be delayed in harnessing the software’s full range of benefits.

Ensure it’s reliable and secure

According to the Zendesk CX Trends Report, more than half of consumers want their data used to improve their experiences, but that can change if your business isn’t adequately protecting it. A customer data breach can lead to severe reputational damage, legal consequences, and financial losses. Secure analytics software helps ensure that customer data is encrypted, user access is restricted, and data is stored and processed in compliance with data protection laws.

Be mindful of integrations

A customer analytics solution is only as good as the systems it can connect with. First off, you’ll want analytics software that can integrate with all your customer communication channels. Second, the software needs to sync with internal systems so you can easily combine data from different sources to get a 360-degree view of your customers. If your chosen software has a library of pre-built integrations, it’s easier to implement the tools you need.

Vimeo, for example, uses Zendesk’s extensibility to gather analytics from its CRM, project management, and communication tools. The company customized multiple dashboards to share customer success and sales data so teams can tap into cross-departmental information.

Prioritize scalability

As your company grows, so will the volume and complexity of your data. Scalable analytics software can accommodate your expansion without jeopardizing your productivity. It allows you to scale your analytics infrastructure, incorporate additional data sources, and handle growing user demands. Accounting for the scalability potential of the software now allows you to support your current needs while ensuring that it can evolve alongside your business.