Cohort analysis is a method of analyzing user behavior by grouping users together based on a shared characteristic, such as sign-up date, purchase history, or product usage.
Cohort analysis is important for businesses and marketers because it can help you to:
- Understand how users are interacting with your product or service. By tracking the behavior of different cohorts, you can identify which features are most popular, which areas of your product or service are confusing or frustrating, and where users are dropping off.
- Measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. By tracking the behavior of cohorts that have been exposed to different marketing campaigns, you can measure the impact of those campaigns on user behavior.
- Identify opportunities for improvement. By understanding how users are interacting with your product or service, you can identify areas where you can improve the user experience or make changes to your marketing strategy.
Here are some examples of how businesses and marketers can use cohort analysis:
- A SaaS company could use cohort analysis to track the behavior of new users to identify which features are most popular and where users are dropping off. This information could be used to improve the onboarding experience and reduce churn.
- An e-commerce company could use cohort analysis to track the behavior of customers who have purchased different products. This information could be used to identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities.
- A mobile game developer could use cohort analysis to track the behavior of players who have reached different levels in the game. This information could be used to identify areas where the game is too difficult or too easy and to make changes to the game to improve the player experience.
Cohort analysis is a powerful tool that can help businesses and marketers to better understand their users and improve their products, services, and marketing campaigns. If you're not already using cohort analysis, I encourage you to learn more about it and start using it to improve your business.
How to get started with cohort analysis
There are a few different ways to get started with cohort analysis. One option is to use a business intelligence platform like Google Analytics or Tableau. These platforms offer cohort analysis tools that make it easy to track the behavior of different cohorts and identify trends and patterns.
Another option is to use a dedicated cohort analysis tool like Mixpanel or Amplitude. These tools offer more advanced features for cohort analysis, such as the ability to segment cohorts based on multiple criteria and to track the behavior of cohorts across different devices and platforms.
No matter which method you choose, the first step in getting started with cohort analysis is to identify the cohort that you want to track. This could be a group of new users, customers who have purchased a particular product, or players who have reached a certain level in a game.
Once you have identified the cohort that you want to track, you need to collect data on their behavior. This data can be collected from a variety of sources, such as your website, app, or CRM system.
Once you have collected data on the cohort's behavior, you can use a cohort analysis tool to analyze the data and identify trends and patterns. This information can then be used to improve your product, service, or marketing campaigns.
If you're not sure how to get started with cohort analysis, there are a number of resources available online and in books. We recommend starting with the following resources:
- Google Analytics cohort analysis guide: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6074676?hl=en
- Mixpanel cohort analysis guide: https://mixpanel.com/blog/cohort-analysis/