How to Track Your Customer Behavior Through a Mobile App

6 min readJan 18, 2022

Using information from mobile applications can significantly adjust your development strategy. Drawing up a portrait of the consumer will allow you to personalize the offer and get more profit. The collection of information is due to the GPS or geofencing function, which we will talk about later. In this article, we will also talk about what kind of data you need to collect and how to use it correctly.

Why Should Business Track Users Behavior?

User behavior tracker app analytics is not just data, but an indicator of the effectiveness of your business at the current moment. It is impossible to improve the application “by eye”, here you need to own analytics and use it as competently as possible.

More often than not, users may not act as expected. To fix this, it is important to track the user’s path and collect direct feedback.

Key benefits of data monitoring:

simplification of data analysis and establishing links between their fragments;
continuous improvement of the application life cycle;
complete behavioral picture of the user.

Only with all this information will the business flourish.

What Can Product Owners Learn While Tracking Customers?

By studying the information collected by tracking app usage, the owner’s product can collect a lot of useful information. For example, it will be easier for you to put yourself in the place of the client and understand how to improve the level of service.

You can also understand not only how to attract, but also how to keep customers. Various loyalty programs and email marketing chains can help with this, but all this will only work if you understand exactly which target group has sunk (by user demographics, age, or any other parameter).

The main metrics that help software increase profitability:

Session duration
User activity tracker
User retention/novelty
Session Frequency/Interval
Screens and ScreenFlow
App time.

All this shows how much the user is involved in the application and what parts of it are of interest to him. Performance improvement works much better when used in a targeted manner.

Legal Considerations When Setting Up User Tracking

By tracking user behavior, you may come across sensitive information. In order to guarantee the security of this information and not violate the privacy of users, it is important to comply with legal regulations regarding information obtained in trekking. Each country has its own regulation of this issue, so it is necessary to conduct local research before launching the application.

For example, in the US, there is no law at the federal level regarding tracking consumer behavior. But there are the Federal Trade Commission’s Behavioral Advertising Principles, which provide guidelines for the collection and use of information about users. For example, sites must warn users about user tracking using their own and third-party cookies, as well as other methods.

The list of all information that you plan to collect, as well as the methods by which you will carry it out, must be specified in the user agreement.

4 Best Ways to Track User Behavior in Mobile App

Consider the main methods of obtaining information to improve your business.

Session records

This is the best way to track the interaction with the application from the moment they first launch until they leave it. This metric allows you to look at the application through the eyes of the user. You will be able to calculate conversion rates, find errors and analyze behavior.

Navigation paths & Click Heatmaps

You will be able to map the application and user paths through it. You can also get screen detail metrics to help improve UI/UX.

Conversion Funnels

You will be able to get a clear understanding of when and at what stage they are eliminated. The combination of information regarding conversion funnels and session records can provide a particularly powerful approach to increasing conversion rates.

Action Cohorts

You will be able to analyze user activity tracking separately and in relation to each other. You will also receive time tracking.

Where Mobile User Tracking Is Most In-Demand

The tracking function is most relevant for businesses that provide services and goods. Benefits from such information e-commerce. Here you can track macro conversions and transactions. For example, it is clearly seen that a lot of people look at the product card, but very few people buy it.

At each stage of the purchase, you can offer a relevant addition to the purchase or improve the user experience. The type of goods itself does not matter.

What are some examples of good customer service?

Consider two companies that are traditionally considered synonymous with great customer experience. Thanks to a competent strategy, they manage to build long-term relationships with customers and increase turnover.

Amazon

The e-commerce giant has put in a lot of effort to get the lead. This is achieved thanks to loyal prices and high quality service. This is achieved, first of all, due to the priority of the client for the company. Even the return policy here is developed from the client’s point of view (loss in the mail, order errors, etc.). Support works flawlessly here, which is always ready to answer any questions.

The company’s approach to work is broadcast at all its levels. Therefore, profits at Amazon are not expected instantly, they are ready to wait.

Apple

The company proposes to move from customer experience to technology. Absolutely all processes are built around the user. All employees of the company know everything about the iOS ecosystem: how it works, its competitive advantages, opportunities and ways to solve any problem. Therefore, in any service center and in a store, you can talk to employees as if they were friends.

A Universal Solution for Customer Tracking in Any Mobile App

The TopDevs company has a case with the creation of a GOG application. This is a business solution that helps deliver a personalized experience by tracking customer preferences and habits. This helps to make predictions about user behavior and needs, which leads to increased sales and increased customer loyalty.

The client wanted to better understand his consumer, and so he designed his request. This solution is included in the application and tracks all the nuances, from the time of involvement to preferences.

All this is aimed at facilitating marketing efforts and further providing more personalized services. You can read more about the case here.

How TopDevs Can Upgrade Your Mobile App Analytics

The process of installing and integrating the SDK requires constant interaction between the PM and the developer. Before integrating an SDK into an application, it is important to familiarize yourself with the tasks performed within the framework of the integration and identify the functions that will be used by the application.

In the beginning, it is necessary to designate tasks for SDK integration. Consider the basic SDK integration process:

Get an AppsFlyer developer key and send a link with installation and integration instructions to the developer.
Review attribution notes and identify device IDs.
Identify internal application events whose metrics need to be measured. Passing to the event developer.
Definition of deep linking methods.
Define methods for accessing attribution data.
Once the basic integration is complete, anyone with access to the AppsFlyer dashboard can do basic testing.
Access to debugging logs in the development environment.
Ability to implement the following additional APIs in the SDK.

Summary

When creating a mobile application, it is necessary to work on its popularization and improvement. In order to refine the application to be effective and bring additional profit, it is important to rely on metrics.

Customer tracking app (including behavior) gives you a better understanding of your audience. You can also identify problems early and fix them before losses occur. Choose the tools (e.g. Google analytics behavior tool) that are right for you and deliver the best product.