In the world of startups, everyone is looking for the secret formula to engage users. Heatmaps, click-through rates, and session recordings provide some clues, showing us where users go and what they click. But they leave out the most important part: why users do what they do. And for anyone building a product, the why is everything.
The trouble with traditional analytics is that they show actions without context. A click is just a click. But the reasons behind that click—the curiosity, confusion, or frustration—are lost in the data. It’s like reading a novel by looking at the punctuation marks alone. We need a better way to understand user behavior, one that doesn’t just answer “what” but digs deeper into “why.”
The Gaps in Traditional Analytics
If you’ve built a startup, you know the excitement of watching analytics data come in. The first heatmap, the first funnel report—they feel like a map of your users’ experience. You can see drop-offs, conversion rates, even what users hover over. But then, if you're like me, you realize that this data is only telling part of the story. Knowing where people click is one thing; knowing why they click (or don’t) is the real challenge.
I'm not suggesting that tools like funnels and heatmaps aren't important; they're critical. It's just that I've found that different tools are required for digging into the emotional aspect of the user journey.
But you don't have to take my word for it - startup literature will tell you to obsess over the why:
Finding the “Why” Behind User Behavior
In Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal explains why user intent is crucial:
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square, shared how his companies answer these important questions, “[If] you want to build a product that is relevant to folks, you need to put yourself in their shoes and you need to write a story from their side. So, we spend a lot of time writing what's called user narratives.”
He continues,
Dorsey believes a clear description of users — their desires, emotions, the context with which they use the product — is paramount to building the right solution. In addition to Dorsey's user narratives, tools like customer development,[li] usability studies, and empathy maps[lii] are examples of methods for learning about potential users.
One suggestion for digging into the emotional aspect of user actions is:
... try asking the question "why" as many times as it takes to get to an emotion. Usually this will happen by the fifth “why.” This is a technique adapted from the Toyota Production System described by Taiichi Ohno as the “5 Whys Method.”
The “what” data—clicks and scrolls—misses the deeper motivations that drive users’ choices. Are they clicking because they’re interested? Frustrated? Just exploring? Traditional analytics can’t answer these questions, yet understanding user intent is what truly fuels product success.
To make meaningful improvements, startups need to go beyond isolated clicks and see users’ behavior as a journey, not a checklist. Each interaction is part of a larger narrative, a sequence of decisions and reactions that reflects the user’s state of mind. And understanding this narrative is where tools like ClickHoverHighlight come in, offering a way to capture user journeys in their full complexity.
Think about your own interactions online. There are times you click confidently and times you hesitate, unsure of the next step. You might hover, scroll, even go back to a previous page. All these actions reflect something deeper: curiosity, hesitation, doubt. The goal of narrative analytics is to piece together these breadcrumbs to reveal the bigger picture of user behavior.
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explores the complexity of decision-making. Users rarely make choices in isolation. Each click, hover, and scroll is influenced by factors both conscious and unconscious. If a user hovers repeatedly over a button, for example, it might mean they’re unsure if it’s safe to click, or they may be looking for more information. Understanding these interactions as part of a larger narrative allows you to see not only the “what” but the “why” behind user behavior.
As we navigate our lives, we normally allow ourselves to be guided by impressions and feelings
This is the premise behind ClickHoverHighlight: it collects each user’s actions as a series of connected events, uncovering the nuances behind each decision. Instead of showing you raw data points, it helps you see patterns and uncover hidden stories, turning user actions into narratives that explain, rather than just describe.
A Real-World Example of Narrative Analytics
Consider a startup working on a new onboarding sequence. With standard analytics, they might notice that users click on the first few steps but drop off midway. This information is helpful but limited—it’s not clear why users disengage. Are they confused? Frustrated? Is something missing?
Now, imagine applying narrative analytics. Instead of just showing where users left off, narrative-driven insights reveal that many users hesitate on a specific step, often hovering over certain elements or scrolling up and down. This additional context tells a story: users might be searching for clarification or reassurance, something that isn’t immediately available on that screen.
ClickHoverHighlight does just this - it looks at the nuances of each user session and tries to compile a story based on the raw data. Then, it compares the stories of many users to help determine generally where improvements might be made within an app experience:
Steps to Start Uncovering User Narratives
So, how can startups begin uncovering these deeper stories? Here are a few strategies to bring narrative-driven insights into your process:
- Use a Tool for Narrative Analytics: Tools like ClickHoverHighlight are built for startups that want more than just heatmaps and clicks. By capturing sequences of actions, they reveal not only where users go but what might be motivating them.
- Observe the Flow, Not Just Individual Actions: Analyze the user journey as a sequence of connected decisions. Look for patterns across interactions—are users returning to the same page? Pausing over certain features? These behaviors tell you what’s working and what needs improvement.
- Supplement Analytics with Feedback: Sometimes, direct user feedback fills in the gaps that data alone can’t cover. Surveys, user interviews, and support inquiries are all part of understanding the user narrative.
- Focus on User Goals, Not Just Actions: A series of actions only makes sense if you know what the user is trying to accomplish. When you notice hesitation or frustration, ask yourself whether the product aligns with the user’s goals.
Conclusion
Understanding user behavior is one of a founder’s biggest challenges. While traditional analytics give a view of what users are doing, the next frontier lies in understanding why. The future of analytics is about seeing the user journey not as a series of clicks but as a cohesive narrative. By exploring the “why” behind each action, you gain the insights needed to create a product that resonates with users on a deeper level.
With tools like ClickHoverHighlight, founders can finally go beyond the surface, uncovering stories that make the difference between a product people use and a product they love. So, the next time you’re analyzing data, ask yourself: what’s the story here? Because in every click, every hover, and every scroll, there’s a user’s story waiting to be uncovered.