In today's digital landscape, data drives business success. A study from Forbes and EY found organizations that effectively use advanced analytics strategies saw double-digit growth rates. Yet, only 23% claim to have “an analytics strategy that infuses insights across functions.” Executives recognize the revenue potential of advanced customer-facing analytics.

Customer-facing analytics enables SaaS companies to provide analytics and insights to their end-user customers. In essence, monetizing customer-facing analytics entails empowering your customers with analytics. The more insights your customers can garner from your SaaS platform, the more likely you'll have a more engaged and happy customer.

At its core, monetization is about providing a service or solution that creates enough value for a customer that they would be willing to pay for. It's about turning digital interactions into tangible returns. 

The Foundation of Effective Customer-facing Analytics

Before monetizing, companies must establish how they will operationalize customer-facing analytics within their SaaS platform.

#1: Data Quality

Quality trumps quantity. Instead of capturing and providing every possible data point, focus on collecting genuinely valuable data for your customer end-users. For example, a dashboard that shows purchase behavior for specific user segments can be more insightful than merely tallying user page views. 

Additionally, the accuracy of this data is non-negotiable. Misleading or erroneous data can result in misguided strategies that could be detrimental to business growth.

#2: Building a Customer-centric Framework 

After data collection, the next step is framing it within a customer-centric context. At its core, this means recognizing the importance of customer experience (CX). Every piece of data should be viewed through the lens of enhancing CX, be it improving usability or tailoring recommendations.

But data isn't just about numbers; it's also about emotions and perceptions. Integrating sentiment analysis and regular feedback loops allows businesses to understand not just what customers are doing, but also how they feel. 

This emotional context enriches the data, making strategies more nuanced and effective.

#3: Accelerate Time to Market with Embedded Analytics

To build a mature analytics offering within your SaaS platform, you must either devote significant in-house engineering cycles to create from scratch or you can employ an embedded analytics platform designed specifically for data visualization use cases at scale. Platforms like Explo will streamline data collection, simplify analysis, and match the look and feel of your SaaS platform (white-label styling). 

Monetization Strategies for Customer-facing Analytics

Once you recognize and implement the power of customer-facing analytics, how do you monetize customer-facing analytics for business growth? 

#1: Treat Customer-Facing Analytics as a New Product Launch

As with any new product offering or enhancement, you'll want to ensure your customer end-users are aware of your platform's new capabilities. Use your standard communication channels to announce the offering (e.g., social media, personalized emails, and company newsletter). To reach a broader audience, consider using Product Hunt, Reddit, and Medium.

#2: Target New Customers and Sell New Use Cases

An analytics offering can unlock new potential customers with new data-driven use cases. Let's take a look at some examples of how customers can use analytics:

• Airline companies adjust ticket prices in real time based on flight demand and seat availability.
• Hospitality, hotels can view occupancy levels in real-time and adjust room rates as needed.
• eCommerce platforms can modify product prices based on demand and stock availability.

#3: Upsell Existing Customers

By offering your customers a new or improved analytics offering, you can establish new pricing tiers that include access to customizable dashboards, data reports, and more. Why would they pay more? Customer analytics empowers customers to gain valuable insights directly from your SaaS platform. The insights they gain can unlock more use cases and ROI for them.

Future Trends in Monetizing Customer-facing Analytics

Several trends are poised to shape the landscape of customer-facing analytics:

Evolving landscape of customer-facing analytics tools: Rapid advancements in technology mean that analytics is no longer a passive tool. It's becoming more interactive, allowing businesses to engage with customers in real-time.

Emerging technologies and explosion of data: With the rise of technologies like 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), the volume of data generated is skyrocketing. Businesses that can harness this data efficiently stand to gain a competitive edge in monetization.

AI & Automation: AI and automation are able to sift through massive datasets, identify patterns, and predict future trends will be pivotal in shaping effective and profitable monetization strategies. Automated tools will enable businesses to generate insights from millions and billions of data points.

Final Thoughts

Embedded customer-facing analytics can unlock greater customer satisfaction and new revenue streams for your businesses. As the landscape evolves, a dynamic and versatile platform becomes indispensable. With Explo, SaaS companies can have a singular solution to activate their analytics like never before, granting customers an unparalleled self-service data toolkit that integrates directly into your web portal or application. 

By utilizing an embedded analytics solution in your SaaS platform, you can tap into new markets, customer segments, and opportunities without starting from scratch.

Try Explo for yourself - get started here.