{"id":28169,"date":"2023-01-18T17:12:37","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T22:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/blog\/its-not-just-what-they-say-its-what-they-do-behavioral-insights\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T12:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:40:14","slug":"its-not-just-what-they-say-its-what-they-do-behavioral-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/blog\/its-not-just-what-they-say-its-what-they-do-behavioral-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not just what they say, it\u2019s what they do: Behavioral insights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;help&nbsp;you&nbsp;understand&nbsp;what&nbsp;customers&nbsp;do&nbsp;so you can make decisions about what the&nbsp;business&nbsp;should do. It\u2019s that simple. Or it would be&nbsp;if it weren\u2019t for the enormous complexity of behaviors and how they interact with each other.&nbsp;That\u2019s why this discipline has become so&nbsp;important, especially since the exponential&nbsp;lift&nbsp;in digital interactions&nbsp;these past few years.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behavioral&nbsp;insights are&nbsp;a great way for you to&nbsp;understand&nbsp;cohorts&nbsp;of customers who act a certain way or perform specific actions&nbsp;\u2013 the segments of behavior within the data you\u2019re looking at.&nbsp;Remember actions speak louder than words, so with&nbsp;the right&nbsp;behavioral data points, coupled with information from surveys and other feedback methods, you have&nbsp;the recipe for success&nbsp;at your fingertips.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what do you get with this recipe?&nbsp;Simply, you have the cake and get to eat it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ll be able&nbsp;to make data-based decisions&nbsp;to help your business achieve its goals. Understanding customer&nbsp;behaviors and how they relate to each other&nbsp;shows&nbsp;you&nbsp;the path&nbsp;to&nbsp;increasing&nbsp;retention&nbsp;and&nbsp;boosting engagement, all these things that tend to&nbsp;impact&nbsp;directly&nbsp;on customer lifetime value and&nbsp;the bottom line.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">How do behavioral insights work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All businesses collect behavioral data. It\u2019s&nbsp;part of&nbsp;the platforms we use, the&nbsp;systems&nbsp;we have in place.&nbsp;But the result is often&nbsp;a myriad of data points&nbsp;that aren\u2019t worth much on their own.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;generally&nbsp;combine&nbsp;two types of&nbsp;data: user data for segmentation and event data&nbsp;that tracks actions.&nbsp;By&nbsp;placing&nbsp;them together, you can find out what&nbsp;your customers are up to, across touchpoints in the journey.&nbsp;You can turn data into stories and&nbsp;create cohorts&nbsp;of customers with a certain profile. And you can&nbsp;better predict future behaviors based on&nbsp;all the information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bring your behavioral data into your experience platform and&nbsp;the world\u2019s your oyster. Not only&nbsp;do&nbsp;you have&nbsp;all the right data in one place to give it its full meaning, but you&nbsp;can also&nbsp;visualize it&nbsp;via fit-for-purpose dashboards and&nbsp;alerts.&nbsp;It\u2019s even&nbsp;better if your platform integrates with&nbsp;your internal communication systems&nbsp;and other business software, so you can share information and make decisions right there and then.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">Examples&nbsp;of&nbsp;behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;behaviors&nbsp;can you track?&nbsp;As many as you want! For&nbsp;example:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Downloading an asset online such as an\u00a0eBook\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Abandoning a cart\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Logging into\u00a0an account\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Purchasing a subscription\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visiting a certain page\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what&nbsp;can organizations do with this information?&nbsp;Well, it helps them understand&nbsp;their customers better so they&nbsp;can&nbsp;shape their offering and their communications&nbsp;more accurately.&nbsp;Behavioral&nbsp;data&nbsp;is particularly&nbsp;well suited for exercises like A\/B testing&nbsp;and&nbsp;funnel analysis, as well as customer journey mapping.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now let\u2019s&nbsp;consider online retail&nbsp;as an example, a real expert at this game.&nbsp;Ecommerce companies often have&nbsp;huge&nbsp;amounts&nbsp;of behavioral data about&nbsp;their&nbsp;customers which&nbsp;can be used&nbsp;to&nbsp;recommend new products&nbsp;to them&nbsp;and entice them to buy more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And this is a key success factor&nbsp;for some, if not most of the market domination&nbsp;of&nbsp;e-retailers.&nbsp;The combination of&nbsp;data about what customers do and the way they feel is very&nbsp;powerful indeed.&nbsp;It gives organizations a sense&nbsp;of&nbsp;why customers&nbsp;behave in&nbsp;a certain way,&nbsp;so they can influence&nbsp;this in future. For instance, if they see&nbsp;that the&nbsp;customers&nbsp;who&nbsp;abandoned&nbsp;a cart&nbsp;also gave&nbsp;bad reviews&nbsp;about the shopping experience (e.g.,&nbsp;not accepting their preferred payment method), they\u2019ll know&nbsp;what to fix to&nbsp;prevent this issue in future.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Top tips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be targeted. Try to be as\u00a0specific as possible\u00a0about\u00a0what\u00a0data points you need to\u00a0collect, and how it helps to\u00a0enhance your program\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect the right data points\u00a0and find out what outcomes\u00a0you\u2019re aiming for, and make\u00a0sure you map the\u00a0customer journey\u00a0for\u00a0every bit of data you collect\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for patterns over time.\u00a0Why\u00a0is\u00a0one segment of customers\u00a0less happy than\u00a0another? Use descriptive,\u00a0diagnostic\u00a0and\u00a0predictive\u00a0and methods\u00a0to\u00a0improve the program in the\u00a0long term\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">How to get started with&nbsp;behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Define your goals<\/strong>If you don\u2019t know where you\u2019re going, how could you possibly\u00a0pick the right path? Start with\u00a0your company\u2019s corporate\u00a0goals and\u00a0ensure your behavioral\u00a0insights\u00a0strategy\u00a0aligns with them. For instance,\u00a0if a key\u00a0objective\u00a0is to reduce customer churn by 5%, make sure you collect\u00a0all relevant data.\u00a0What were the last 3 actions\u00a0a customer went through before churning?\u00a0Maybe these actions often\u00a0include a chatbot conversation that didn\u2019t go well.\u00a0The point is, there\u2019s an almost infinite\u00a0number\u00a0of behaviors you can track, so make sure\u00a0you know where the path to success lies.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bust the silos\u00a0<\/strong>Behavioral data is held in\u00a0many places across the business. Marketing of course, but also\u00a0product,\u00a0digital,\u00a0finance,\u00a0the customer\u00a0call\u00a0center,\u00a0among others. Once you\u00a0have\u00a0defined your goals and the\u00a0related metrics, find out where that information is available and how to connect\u00a0to it.\u00a0But data shouldn\u2019t\u00a0just flow one way.\u00a0Behavioral\u00a0insights\u00a0can\u00a0benefit\u00a0the company at large, not just the CX or customer insights team.\u00a0So,\u00a0make sure you include all departments in your strategy so you can both\u00a0grab and share data across the business.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Get the right\u00a0platform\u00a0<\/strong>Now you know where you\u2019re going, and what data you need along the way, you can select the right platform that will deliver your vision. You\u2019ll\u00a0need to consider\u00a0how\u00a0to:\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>integrate data from different sources\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>compare data side by side\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>understand why customers engage\u00a0with your brand\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>make sure everyone can use it\u00a0(user-friendliness is key)\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>set up all the dashboards you\u2019ll need, now and in the future\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">How can Forsta help?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every bit of data is part of a story. Connect it all up so you never miss a chapter.&nbsp;Forsta&nbsp;makes&nbsp;multiple data streams work as one.&nbsp;Pull together any data you want to connect, like CRM data, purchase transactions, operational metrics, call\u202fcenter\u202fnotes and recordings.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Forsta&nbsp;takes all your&nbsp;combined&nbsp;data and continuously synchronizes changes.&nbsp;Your insights are always up to&nbsp;date,&nbsp;and you\u2019re never blindsided.&nbsp;So,&nbsp;when trends start to&nbsp;emerge&nbsp;that could have a story behind them, you\u2019ll be the first to know.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-3-font-size\">Ready to see in a new dimension?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like all programs,&nbsp;behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;success depends&nbsp;on how well you define your goals right at the start. Don\u2019t skip that step, and hope all will magically fall into step later. You need at least a picture of the puzzle before you start building it. But do start small, maybe with a pilot. If you try and boil the ocean all at once, you might not have anything to show next quarter. And that\u2019s often why programs get axed before they get going.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;can add a whole new dimension to&nbsp;your customer experience program.&nbsp;They&nbsp;help you&nbsp;fill that gap between what customers say and what they do.&nbsp;They&nbsp;enrich&nbsp;your survey data with hard metrics, so you can&nbsp;show them the money and prove the value of your program.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With behavioral&nbsp;insights&nbsp;you also get to go one step further&nbsp;with&nbsp;customer journey mapping, connecting the dots&nbsp;between touchpoints so they start to make sense.&nbsp;You can spot behaviors that&nbsp;trigger certain actions \u2013 upselling,&nbsp;churn, and anything in between.&nbsp;So,&nbsp;you can&nbsp;better&nbsp;understand why customers do what they&nbsp;do.&nbsp;And&nbsp;you can see the story behind the data.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201dForsta&nbsp;allows you to be truly open. You click on a link on our website, and directly navigate the data. It is incredibly easy; you have access to everything with no login&nbsp;required.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Robert Pain<\/strong>Senior Insight Advisor, Transport Focus&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2026\/02\/Perfect_Binding_Brochure_Mockup_3_Gather_less-background.avif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-5-font-size\"><strong>Want to know how you can really understand customer behavior?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s the key to making the right decisions, at the right times. Especially when those times are turbulent.&nbsp;Check out our eBook <em>Gather: From Feedback to Feelings<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/go.forsta.com\/gather_ebook_blog.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download eBook<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>customer retention strategies, customer retention strategies, customer retention strategy, retention strategies for customers, strategies for customer retention<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":26583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","disable_featured_image":false,"temp_reference":0,"temp_parent":0,"pathfactory_url":"","webinar_link":"","webinar_link_text":"","start_date":"","start_time":"","end_date":"","end_time":"","pressganey_person_subtitle":"","pressganey_person_linkedin":"","pressganey_person_articles":"","pressganey_person_available":false,"url":"","menu_icon":"","is_mobile":false,"breadcrumb_base":"","author":42531,"co_author":0},"categories":[501],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28169"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42904,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28169\/revisions\/42904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}