How to analyze user behavior with Baremetrics

Analyzing user behavior is essential for understanding how customers interact with your product or service. Baremetrics offers an intuitive platform designed to help businesses track key metrics such as churn rate, customer lifetime value, and monthly recurring revenue. This step-by-step tutorial will guide you through the process of setting up Baremetrics and using its features to gain valuable insights into user behavior, even if you have no development background. By leveraging these insights, you can make data-driven decisions that enhance customer satisfaction, reduce churn, and ultimately boost your business growth.

What you will build

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a fully functional Baremetrics account connected to your subscription service or e-commerce platform. You will be able to monitor user behavior data such as customer engagement patterns, recurring revenue trends, and cohort analysis. This comprehensive tracking allows for a more nuanced understanding of your customers’ journey through your offerings.

This setup allows you to visualize valuable metrics on customizable dashboards, detect anomalies through alerts, and understand retention rates. You will be able to create highly tailored reports that highlight trends over customizable date ranges, helping you to dive deep into your business’s performance from multiple perspectives. Ultimately, you will be equipped to make informed decisions to improve customer experience and grow your business revenue by identifying which segments to target, which plans to promote, and where you need to improve user retention.

Prerequisites

• A subscription-based business or access to billing data (Stripe, Recurly, or similar supported platform). This is crucial because Baremetrics retrieves data directly from your billing provider.
• Active Baremetrics account registration (free trial or paid plan). Signing up provides access to the dashboard and integration tools.
• Basic understanding of your current customer billing system, including familiarity with concepts like subscriptions, invoices, and refunds. This knowledge helps in interpreting the data accurately.
• A modern web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) to ensure full compatibility with the Baremetrics interface.
• Internet connection for API integration and data sync. Baremetrics requires continuous access to retrieve and update billing data.
• Access to your billing system’s API keys or login credentials. Often, API keys are found in the secure section of your billing provider’s dashboard and are necessary for connecting the two platforms.
• Willingness to explore data dashboards and reports. Engaging with your metrics regularly is essential for maximizing the benefits of Baremetrics.

Step-by-step tutorial

1. Sign up and connect Baremetrics to your billing system
   • Visit Baremetrics official website and register for an account. Use the free trial to explore features before deciding on a plan.
   • Log in to your chosen billing platform (Stripe, Recurly, etc.) and locate the API key in the settings. This is often under Developers, API Keys, or similar sections. Make sure you have permissions to generate or view keys in your billing system.
   • Follow Baremetrics prompts to link your billing account securely by entering the API key or authorizing through OAuth. OAuth authorization is usually simpler and safer as it avoids handling API keys directly. Carefully review permission requests before approving.
   • Wait for Baremetrics to import your historical data, which may take a few minutes to several hours depending on your dataset size. Avoid refreshing or closing the browser during this process to prevent interruptions. Once data import is complete, Baremetrics will start providing insights on your account.
2. Explore the Baremetrics dashboard
   • Access the main dashboard after data import is complete to see key metrics like Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), churn rate, and customer count displayed clearly. These metrics serve as your baseline business health indicators.
   • Familiarize yourself with different tabs such as Revenue, Customers, and Insights to understand available data views. Each tab offers unique perspectives: Revenue tracks your cash flow, Customers offers segmentation, and Insights helps with analytics and anomalies.
   • Try hovering over graphs to see detailed data points and date ranges. These tooltips are helpful when pinpointing exact dates on spikes or drops in user behavior or revenue.
   • Experiment with time filters such as weekly, monthly, or year-to-date to observe trends and seasonality in your data. This helps in identifying patterns related to marketing campaigns or product launches.
3. Create a custom report
   • Go to the Reports section and click on “New Report”. This feature lets you tailor your data analysis to suit specific questions or objectives.
   • Select the metric you’re interested in, such as “Churn Rate” or “Customer Lifetime Value”. Hundreds of options exist, so pick what matters most to your current business goals.
   • Adjust filters to narrow down the report by date range, customer cohorts, subscription plans, or billing statuses. Setting the correct filters ensures your reports are actionable and context-relevant.
   • Save the report for quick access later or to add it to your dashboard for ongoing monitoring. Consider naming conventions that make it easy to identify saved reports.
   • Regularly update or create new reports as your business evolves to capture new trends or concerns effectively.
4. Set up behavioral cohorts
   • Navigate to the Cohort Analysis tab to segment users based on behavior, acquisition dates, or subscription types. Cohorts are groups of customers who share similar characteristics or behaviors over time.
   • Create new cohorts by defining criteria such as “users who upgraded in the last 30 days” or “customers with zero churn”. You can combine multiple conditions such as geographic location, plan type, and engagement level for more precision.
   • Use cohort data to analyze retention and revenue changes over specific periods. Visualize how different cohorts behave differently to tailor marketing and support efforts.
   • Experiment with recurring cohorts to track how recent users compare with historical groups, helping identify improvements or declines in user retention.
5. Configure alerts and notifications
   • Go to the Alerts page to set up real-time notifications for significant changes, like sudden spikes in churn or unexpected revenue drops. These alerts help you respond swiftly to potential issues.
   • Choose the metric to monitor and define the threshold values that will trigger alerts. For example, you might want to be notified if churn exceeds 5% in a week or if MRR drops by more than 10%. Be careful to pick meaningful thresholds to avoid alert fatigue.
   • Select your preferred notification method (email, SMS, or Slack integration) to receive updates. Slack integration is especially useful for teams already using Slack for communication.
   • Test your alerts periodically to ensure they are working as expected, and adjust thresholds as your business scales.
6. Analyze the trends using Baremetrics Insights
   • Visit the Insights section to view automated trend detection and anomaly warnings. Baremetrics uses intelligent algorithms to highlight important fluctuations you might overlook.
   • Review suggested insights generated by Baremetrics AI to understand shifts in user behavior and revenue patterns. Examples include noticing a drop in new user signups or an increase in subscription upgrades in particular cohorts.
   • Use these insights to identify opportunities for improving customer retention or upselling. For instance, if a cohort is churning faster, investigate the reasons or initiate targeted campaigns.
   • Document key insights and action plans within your team to ensure data-backed strategies are implemented effectively.
7. Share dashboards and reports with your team
   • Customize the dashboard by adding widgets that highlight the most relevant KPIs for your business. Tailored dashboards ensure team members focus on what matters most to their roles.
   • Use the “Share” feature to generate links or invite team members to collaborate on reporting. You can assign different permission levels to control who can view or edit dashboards.
   • Encourage regular dashboard reviews to keep everyone aligned on growth and user engagement metrics. Consider scheduling weekly or monthly review meetings to discuss insights and progress.
   • Provide training sessions or guides for team members unfamiliar with the platform to maximize adoption and effective usage.
8. Export data for advanced analysis
   • If needed, export your Baremetrics data in CSV format via the export functionality in reports. This option is useful when you want to perform deeper analysis using external tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or business intelligence software.
   • Use spreadsheet software or other analytics tools to perform more granular analysis or combine with other datasets such as marketing campaign data, customer support logs, or product usage metrics.
   • Regularly download data backups to maintain offline copies for audits or long-term tracking. This practice safeguards against accidental data loss and ensures compliance with internal policies or regulations.
   • When exporting large datasets, consider breaking them into smaller time segments to avoid performance issues with spreadsheets.
9. Keep your data up to date
   • Verify your billing platform connection remains active to ensure continuous syncing of new user data. Baremetrics requires an ongoing API connection to function properly, so avoid revoking or rotating API keys without updating Baremetrics settings.
   • Periodically log in to reauthorize integrations if prompted by Baremetrics. Some platforms require token refreshes or periodic reconfirmation for security reasons.
   • Adjust configurations as your business evolves, such as adding new subscription plans or trial periods, to keep your reports and alerts relevant.
   • Review your dashboard and report filters regularly to incorporate any new business models, customer segments, or seasonal changes.
   • Maintain a change log within your team documenting important configuration updates for reference and troubleshooting.

Common mistakes

• Failing to connect the correct API key or billing account, resulting in incomplete data import. Always double-check account details before linking to avoid gaps in your data.
• Ignoring historical data sync wait times and assuming data is immediately available. Keep this in mind especially for large datasets; prematurely analyzing partial data can lead to incorrect conclusions.
• Not customizing reports or cohorts, leading to generic insights that may not fit your business context. Tailored insights provide the most actionable value and help highlight the unique dynamics of your customer base.
• Forgetting to set alerts, missing early warnings about churn spikes or revenue drops, thereby delaying necessary interventions which could mitigate losses.
• Sharing dashboards without setting proper permissions, risking data exposure. Sensitive business metrics should be protected to prevent leaks or misunderstandings.
• Neglecting to check for integration disruptions that can halt new data flow. Monitor your API connection status regularly and respond promptly to alerts regarding failures.
• Overlooking the use of cohorts and behavioral segments to get more detailed understanding of user patterns. Effective segmentation uncovers hidden trends and uncovers opportunities you might otherwise miss.
• Failing to involve key stakeholders in reviewing data and insights. Since metrics affect multiple departments, cross-team collaboration in understanding reports improves decision-making quality.

Next steps

Now that you have your Baremetrics account up and running with valuable user behavior insights, start experimenting with different reports and cohorts. By iterating through various combinations of filters and metrics, you can uncover deeper trends and tailor your subscription offerings to suit customer needs better. This ongoing exploration helps you identify exactly which customer segments are most profitable or at risk.

Consider integrating Baremetrics data with other business tools you use to streamline decision-making and create consistent growth strategies. Platforms such as CRMs, marketing automation, or customer support systems can complement your understanding of user behavior and bring a 360-degree view of customer interactions. This integration enables you to orchestrate personalized outreach efforts and retention campaigns backed by solid data.

Regularly review alerts and insights to stay ahead of potential issues like churn and to capitalize on upsell opportunities. Use insights not only to react but also to proactively experiment with new pricing, packaging, or communication strategies based on user behavior signals.

For additional resources and tutorials related to AI tools and data analysis, visit TechZog to stay updated on the latest trends and best practices. Staying informed equips you with advanced knowledge and techniques to maximize your business analytics capabilities and maintain a competitive edge in your industry.

More Baremetrics guides

• How to set up dashboards in Baremetrics
• How to track product metrics using Baremetrics