At Userpilot<\/a>, I\u2019ve been able to avoid most of these obstacles just by having the right tools at my disposal. I\u2019m going to share my process for collecting engagement data to improve my product, fix friction points in the user journey, and ultimately boost retention.<\/p> Let\u2019s start by clarifying the basic concepts:<\/p> Engagement data is any measurement related to how users interact with a product. It\u2019s often collected at different stages of the user journey<\/a>, revealing feature interactions, friction points, and how long it takes to achieve activation. Analyzing engagement data provides valuable insights into improving the product experience<\/a>.<\/p> To get the widest range of insights, you need to collect both qualitative and quantitative data.<\/p> Qualitative data <\/a>refers to insights that can\u2019t be measured or calculated. It often reflects opinions and subjective perspectives on specific points of your product.<\/p> Qualitative data sources include:<\/p> Quantitative data<\/a> includes any metric or KPI that measures the performance of your product engagement strategies<\/a> with a numerical score. It includes engagement metrics such as:<\/p> Now, let\u2019s go over my 6-step process for collecting customer engagement data with Userpilot that ensures I have varied sources and good data quality.<\/p> My first step to collect engagement data is during the signup process<\/a>.<\/p> A welcome flow<\/a> can serve more than just greeting customers to create a positive first experience with our product. Since customers are more likely to engage during a signup, I include a microsurvey to gather data about their jobs-to-be-done<\/a> (JTBD), job roles, use cases, and expectations with our product.<\/p> This customer data is extremely useful later on to segment customers based on their JTBDs, observe how different groups interact with our product, and come up with personalization strategies<\/a>.<\/p> After setting up the welcome survey, my next step is ensuring I\u2019m tracking the right in-app events to analyze feature engagement<\/a>.<\/p> With Userpilot\u2019s autocapture<\/a>, all clicks, user inputs, and submissions are tracked automatically after you set up the tool, with no need for developers\u2019 help. All I need to do is tag those events with the visual labeler.<\/p> With this, I can instantly create charts to see which features are used most, which are underused, and which users are inactive (a churn risk<\/a>).<\/p> Besides looking at feature usage<\/a>, I also use behavioral reports.<\/p> These reports visualize events and combine them to showcase how users navigate through our product. This can include the customer journey from signup to activation, the adoption process<\/a> of a new feature, or how trial users upgrade to a paid plan.<\/p> These specific reports help me figure out what activation steps generate more friction, giving me opportunities to improve the onboarding flows<\/a>.<\/p> The behavioral reports I use the most are:<\/p> Between the welcome surveys and the quantitative analyses<\/a>, I often come up with different hypotheses about how users interact with our product.<\/p> Watching session replays<\/a> connected to specific points in the customer journey is perfect to cross-reference these hypotheses, validate assumptions, and find new insights I might have ignored.<\/p> For instance, if I think there\u2019s a bug interrupting the onboarding process<\/a>, I can watch sessions at the drop-off step to pinpoint the issue.<\/p> This process gives a qualitative perspective on quantitative data. So instead of finding a bug, I might spot a usability issue<\/a> where a button is hard to find.<\/p> While quantitative data shows what<\/em> users do, qualitative data tells us why<\/em>.<\/p> To gather feedback, I use Userpilot to send in-app surveys<\/a> asking users about their experience, new features, or the issues they encountered.<\/p> In my experience, NPS surveys<\/a> are one of the most valuable feedback tools. NPS score<\/a> correlates with product engagement<\/a> (more promoters = more power users), but it also helps me segment promoters and detractors. This way, I can get even deeper insights from path analyses, see if any user attributes correlate with NPS answers, and find opportunities to re-engage detractors.<\/p> Userpilot\u2019s logic and branching allow me to trigger follow-up NPS questions<\/a> based on the user\u2019s score and specific conditions, such as visited pages or other previous actions.<\/p> Finally, I believe in constant iterative testing<\/a> to refine my engagement strategies.<\/p> With A\/B testing<\/a>, I can try different versions of our product tours<\/a>, experiment with various in-app messages<\/a>, or even tweak button text to see what drives the most engagement.<\/p> Moreover, Userpilot lets me perform three types of experiments:<\/p> Once I’ve collected engagement data, it\u2019s time to turn valuable insights into action. Here’s how I approach this process:<\/p> Remember the welcome survey<\/a>, funnel report, and path analysis I used to monitor engagement data? They serve as building blocks for a personalized onboarding experience<\/a>.<\/p> Since now I know what a successful activation path<\/a> looks like for each segment and recognize the steps with the most drop-offs, I can create a targeted and optimized onboarding flow. Here\u2019s what I do:<\/p> This gives me the power as a product manager to optimize the customer journey, reduce time to value<\/a>, and prevent funnel drop-offs<\/a>.<\/p> When the data shows that a particular workflow or a specific feature is driving high engagement, I analyze it closely. What made it successful? Can we apply those lessons to other areas of the product?<\/p> For instance, feature engagement data<\/a> helps me identify our product’s “sticky” elements, and then design targeted in-app messages<\/a> (e.g., product tours<\/a> or native tooltips<\/a>) to guide more users to value. They can be a part of a secondary onboarding<\/a>, pointing users to features they may not have used while completing the initial activation flow.<\/p> As I explained, tools like funnel reports or session replays help me pinpoint exactly where users struggle.<\/p> Spotting friction points helps prioritize our product roadmap<\/a> by ensuring the features causing drop-offs of the most valuable clients are fixed first.<\/p> I carefully watch frustrated sessions<\/a>\u00a0to spot the source of the friction. I always look for rage clicks<\/a>, repeated interactions, or any indicator that something is wrong.<\/p> For example, if a user performed the same activation task repeatedly without completing the next one, then it\u2019s a clear sign that there\u2019s a friction point<\/a>. Watching that same session lets me observe what happened and see whether the problem comes from a misplaced button, a bug, or a server issue (while also making it easier to fix).<\/p> Another use of engagement data is to re-engage dormant users<\/a> who no longer show in-app activity or are NPS detractors (dissatisfied with the app).<\/p> Since they\u2019re outside the product, in-app marketing strategies<\/a> using modals, pop-ups, or tooltips won\u2019t work, which means I need to set up automated emails<\/a> as a product manager.<\/p> Many popular email marketing automation tools<\/a> can\u2019t trigger emails based on in-app behavior<\/a>. But with Userpilot, I can set up re-engagement campaigns that target the segments I already tagged as \u201cdormant\u201d or \u201cdetractors.\u201d These might involve sending a gentle invitation to finish their task, showing a new feature that was previously missed, or offering a discount to improve click-through-rates (CTR).<\/p>What is engagement data?<\/h2>
Qualitative data<\/h3>
Quantitative data<\/h3>
How to collect engagement data: 6-step approach<\/h2>
Step 1: Learn customers’ jobs-to-be-done from the welcome flow<\/h3>
![\"welcome](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/welcome-survey_9044bd033ccc6e2dcf13708b367a8abc_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>Step 2: Track in-app behavior for actionable insights on feature usage<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"feature](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/userpilot-tooltips_5637b00e83d331faf8cc721cef6ae24d.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>Step 3: Use funnel and path analysis to understand the customer journey<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"funnel](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/funnel-settings-userpilot-1_327e7201ad79e8d93d377d35d36bd116.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>![\"path](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/paths-filters-userpilot_5c482a6f4d3bc62174bdcc6997bc0058.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>Step 4: Watch session replays to bring context to engagement data<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"session](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/userpilot-user-session-recordingspng-1_60c9f0d348d9b9ba3c3cdf42a7b585f4_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>Step 5: Collect feedback to learn real sentiments and track customer satisfaction<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"nps](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nps-overview_1f6bada6eec879e4229117aa6fb88ac1_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>Step 6: Test and optimize flows to adjust strategies<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"ab](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/a-b-testing-saas-product-managementpng-1_69692c1b2cc76acc18a6240552897610_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>How to use engagement data? Tactics to boost satisfaction and re-engage customers<\/strong><\/h2>
Create personalized onboarding flows<\/h3>
![\"interactive](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/attention-insight-checklist-1_309990b2e48ace941fb542c373f9b5d6.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>Identify and replicate high-impact experiences<\/h3>
![\"cleeng](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/tooltip-customer-history-800_f6699bdee481bcddb744183f57ee1b88_800.webp)
<\/picture><\/figure>Improve your product by eliminating friction points<\/h3>
![\"session](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/collab-session-rec-userpilot_c0411fe41567f3f5204d29c9b64d5b61_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>Re-engage disengaged customers via email<\/h3>
![\"Grammarly](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/grammarly-re-engagement-email_845590307f5aaacb04d89f9f223a38cf_800.png)
<\/picture>