Been digging into user behavior patterns and wondering if anyone has successfully predicted what users want before they actually ask for it.
What data points have worked best for you when trying to anticipate user needs?
Check where users bail versus where they actually finish.
I track conversions at each step and hit the biggest drop-offs first. Usually means people want something faster or they’re stuck.
Screen time’s important too. If users hang around way longer than usual, they can’t find what they need.
Check session duration first. Short times usually mean users want something different. Track feature usage alongside support tickets. When a popular feature generates many ‘how do I do X instead’ tickets, that’s your gap. Also, analyze drop-off points in your user flow. High abandonment spots signal missing functionality.
Watch what users try to click but can’t. Those phantom clicks tell you everything.
Zero-result searches are pure gold. Users literally tell you what they want when they search and find nothing.
Tracked this on a travel app - tons of searches for “pet friendly hotels” but we only had basic filters. Added it, bookings jumped 8%.
Check what users do right before hitting support too. If they’re always visiting the same 3 screens before asking questions, that flow’s broken.
If people scroll but don’t click, your content probably isn’t what they expected to find.