Subscriber analytics are vital for growth

Subscriber retention and revenue growth rely on publishers having access to activity data that clearly shows how their service provides value to client organisations and their users. Yet, this vital data is not always available or made accessible to the teams or individuals who can use it to make strategic decisions.

We’ve seen this issue many times during our 20 years of developing software for publishers of analyst research. For instance, publishers that have made acquisitions and have yet to migrate brands onto the same system are less likely to have access to comparable data.

Analyst firms operating with a legacy system may struggle to find valuable data or respond quickly to user behaviour with new products or up-sells.

Furthermore, in July 2024, GA4 replaced the more familiar Universal Google Analytics. Analyst firms must now up-skill their commercial/strategy leads, heads of research, and account managers or rely on marketing to track and quickly share relevant data.

In our experience, analyst firms that provide their team with access to usage data via a purpose-built publishing system can do the following:

1. 1. 1.  Accurately convey to subscribers the value of their service and spot early signs that subscribers may not be receiving a satisfactory return on investment
      2. Identify opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell additional services or bespoke/personalised products
      3. Optimise content strategy based on search and usage trends
      4. Turn user insights into product success metrics

1. Accurately convey to subscribers the value of your service, and spot early signs that subscribers may not be receiving a satisfactory return on investment

Return on investment is critical to demonstrating value, but ROI may differ between client accounts. The key to demonstrating value is first to identify what ROI means for your client at an overall account level and by user type and then determine data points that indicate they are, or are not, gaining value.

Regularly reviewing the relevant usage stats can help identify poorly performing accounts and disengaged customers you potentially risk losing. If detected early enough, the opportunity exists to turn a disenchanted user into a satisfied customer that renews.

Data points that demonstrate engagement include:

• • Active or inactive users within a specified date range
  • Reports viewed or downloaded and popular formats
  • Custom reports created/downloaded, and clippings saved
  • Searches carried out within reports
  • Content shared among users

2. Identify opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell additional services or bespoke/personalised products

Usage data can point you towards potential sales opportunities that deliver more value for subscribers. Up and cross-sales drive revenue growth while making your service indispensable for clients and mitigating the risk that they do not gain sufficient ROI.

For example, if a new piece of content is published that has high relevance for a client but lies outside their license, a manager has a range of options to deepen the customer relationship. They might provide time-limited free access, offer a reduction, or even use this content to cross-sell into a new area.

A user who continually returns to specific pieces of content either finds it useful or is looking for something else. You could offer them a deal to broaden their licensed content with related material, bolt-on related content, or sell time with an analyst.

Selling analyst time is a commonly under-utilised asset. Billable analyst time increases per-account-value and deepens the subscriber-analyst relationship, which could lead to higher-value consulting work.

Data points that indicate a sales opportunity include:

• • A subscriber attempting to access content outside of license
  • Product marketing pages accessed
  • Marketing brochure downloads
  • Returning users by report

3. Optimise content strategy based on search and usage trends

Market analysis providers must understand the topics, trends, and content formats that deliver value to subscribers, so services remain relevant and valuable.

Analysing usage and searches can help identify trending and declining topics informing future content production. No-result searches are an important indication that there could be gaps in your content, and frequent searches suggest a topic may be of particular interest.

Analyst firms using generative AI-powered search, such as MyCatalyst, will gain deeper insight into what subscribers seek. Usage data will reveal what subscribers are looking for and provide further insight into the broader context of how the research will potentially be used.

Data points that guide content strategy:

• • Most popular search terms
  • Searches by user
  • Most popular content
  • No-result searches

4. Turning User Insights Into Product Success Metrics

Subscriber analytics are not only essential for retention and content optimisation, they are a powerful source of product intelligence. Analyst firms that systematically collect and analyse user behaviour data can surface unmet needs, discover under-served audiences, and generate ideas for new digital products, formats, or features.

For example, consistently high engagement with downloadable charts or infographics might suggest an opportunity to create a visual insights package. Frequent failed searches in a particular category may indicate demand for a new report series, or signal the need to refine tagging and classification to improve discoverability. And subscriber analytics can help product teams prove ROI on products by providing quantifiable evidence of how subscribers engage with and extract value from the firm’s offering.

Analytics can reveal whether engagement is widespread across an account or concentrated with a few users. Proving that multiple teams, roles, or regions within a client organisation regularly use a product strengthens the case for product ROI, as it indicates the product is embedded into workflows. By combining usage data with qualitative client feedback or account performance metrics (like renewal rates or consulting upsell), product teams can demonstrate how product engagement translates into commercial outcomes.

Subscriber activity data is a crucial tool for analyst firms and provides critical insights that can shape the processes throughout the cycle of an analyst firm’s work (Figure 1), influencing content strategies and boosting engagement. However, for managers to utilise this information fully, they also need the ability to quickly create new products or expand services.

Subscriber analytics should not be viewed as a supplementary function. They are a core component of an analyst firm’s ability to meet strategic objectives. These insights support evidence-based decision-making across content, product, commercial, and account management teams. Used effectively, analytics reveal how value is delivered, where opportunities lie, and where action is required.

When firms integrate analytics into everyday decision-making across teams, they gain not only a clearer picture of current performance but a sharper lens for where to go next. Whether you’re looking to reduce churn, grow account value, refine your content strategy, or prove product ROI, the insights are already there and waiting to be put to work.

Content Catalyst’s publishing platform is a purpose-built system with native usage reporting and Google Analytics integration capabilities. Analyst firms using our system have access to tools that enable them to easily create offers, amend licenses, promote content, and publish fresh content.

Book a demo to discover how Content Catalyst can enhance your publishing strategy.