We live in a world of inertia, caused by decision paralysis, and the best apps are investing in embedded analytics to move people, sometimes quite literally.
Take Strava, for example. Embedded analytics is a core part of their paid membership features. Things like heatmaps that show which roads people have taken, flyovers showing a 3D render of the route -- these are all visualizations built and maintained by BI professionals, and their unique selling point.
Personalization has become increasingly important as people face the choice paradox (too many choices making the decision more difficult to make).
We've become so data-assisted that any product that doesn't guide our decisions using personalization becomes obsolete. Music and content streaming apps do it, eCommerce sites use it, and yes, Strava uses it. They curate the best routes based on your location, physical health, goals and usage history data. Just like food delivery apps offer "quick picks", Strava embeds "best routes" right where the decision happens and I would wager the majority of people use it.
What embedded analytics and personalization actually do is create urgency. A "guest favourite" badge Airbnb sticks onto some listings is a blend of review data, cancellation rates and accuracy ratings. There are people employed by Airbnb who inspect properties for accuracy and real reflection of the listing. The notes they take and the boxes they check feed the entire analytics engine behind something as simple as a "guest favourite" tag. That feature alone probably cost Airbnb millions of dollars, but the incredible notion is that it probably made them a significant ROI. The faster a decision is made, the more likely the user will stay and eventually become a customer.In decision-making, data-driven refers to collection and analysis of data to guide decisions and improve chances of success.
There are things happening on the other side of the story, too. Rental management software uses embedded analytics to show hosts crucial guest and property info. This guides decisions ranging from how to decorate a place to where to invest marketing dollars or change prices per night.
That's the dashboard Booking.com has embedded into their host property management tool, also called Extranet.
This is basically a browser-based page behind a login that lets hosts upload photos, edit property details, change prices, etc. And the analytics tab is a click away from the home page.
Ultimately, embedded analytics and personalization work in tandem with our gut feeling to lead us to the right course of action.
Building embedded analytics into your app doesn't have to be a solo project. Talk to us and we'll figure out how to provide the best analytics experience to your users.
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