If you’re building a SaaS product, you probably care a lot about what your users actually do—not just signups and logins, but the stuff that shows if your product is actually helping anyone. Getting a handle on those product usage metrics can be a pain, especially if you’re drowning in data or fighting with clunky dashboards. This guide is for anyone on a SaaS team—product managers, founders, engineers—who wants to use Grow to keep an eye on the numbers that really matter, without wasting hours on busywork.
No fluff. No buzzwords. Just the steps you need, real-world caveats, and some hard-won advice.
Step 1: Figure Out What You Actually Need to Track
Before you open up Grow or any dashboard tool, stop and think: what are you really trying to measure? “Product usage” is broad—don’t fall into the trap of tracking everything because it looks impressive.
Here’s what actually matters for most SaaS teams:
- Active users: Daily, weekly, or monthly. Pick what fits your usage pattern.
- Feature adoption: Are users trying out the stuff you’ve built?
- Core actions: The things that mean someone is getting value (e.g., files uploaded, messages sent, reports created).
- Retention: Are people coming back?
- Churn signals: Drop-offs, uninstalls, or accounts going dormant.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics—like total signups or pageviews—unless you have a reason. Don’t track something just because it’s easy.
Pro tip: Start with 3–5 metrics. You can always add more later. More dashboards don’t equal more insight.
Step 2: Make Sure Your Data Is Actually Available
Grow can’t help you if you don’t have the data in the first place. This is where most teams get tripped up.
Ask yourself: - Are your product events (like signups, button clicks, core actions) getting logged somewhere? (Database, data warehouse, Segment, Amplitude, etc.) - Do you have timestamps on events, so you can track things over time? - Is your data clean? (E.g., do you have duplicate users, or missing fields?)
If the answer is “sort of,” you’ll need to get your event tracking sorted out first. Grow can pull from a bunch of sources, but it can’t magically create missing data.
Pro tip: Don’t wait to have a “perfect” data pipeline. Good enough is fine to get started. Just make sure you know what you’re looking at.
Step 3: Connect Your Data Sources to Grow
Once you’ve figured out what you want to track and where that data lives, it’s time to connect it to Grow.
Here’s the honest truth: setting up data sources is usually the least fun part. But Grow tries to make it less painful than some tools.
Common sources SaaS teams use: - Cloud databases (Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server) - Google Sheets or CSV exports (if you’re early-stage or scrappy) - Cloud data warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift) - Third-party services (Stripe, HubSpot, Intercom, etc.)
How to connect: 1. Go to Grow, find the “Add Data Source” option. 2. Pick your data source. 3. Enter credentials (API keys, DB connection info), and test the connection. 4. For cloud databases, make sure you lock down user permissions—never give more access than you need.
What to watch out for: - Some integrations are smoother than others. If you’re using a less-common tool, expect to fiddle with settings. - Data syncs aren’t always real-time. Double-check update frequency if you need fresh data.
Pro tip: If you’re stuck, Grow’s docs are pretty detailed—but don’t be afraid to ask your own devs for help with permissions or queries.
Step 4: Build Simple Metrics First—Don’t Get Fancy
Once your data’s in, you’ll be tempted to make a dashboard with every chart possible. Resist. Start small.
Set up your core metrics: - Active users over time: Line chart by day/week/month. - Feature adoption: Bar chart of key features, or a funnel of steps. - Retention: Cohort analysis (if you have the data). - Core action counts: Table or chart of the main thing users do.
How to do this in Grow: 1. Click “Add Metric.” 2. Select your data source and table. 3. Pick a visualization (don’t obsess—line and bar charts work for almost everything). 4. Filter your data (e.g., only paying users, or actions in the last 30 days). 5. Save it to a dashboard.
What works: - Keeping it dead simple to start—one metric per card. - Using filters to focus on the segment that matters (e.g., new users, enterprise customers).
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating with 10 filters and color codes. - Trying to build a “north star” metric before you know what matters.
Pro tip: If you can’t explain what you’re tracking to a teammate in under a minute, it’s too complicated.
Step 5: Set Up Alerts and Sharing (If You Actually Need Them)
Grow lets you set up email or Slack alerts for when metrics hit certain thresholds. This is handy—if you’re careful.
When to use alerts: - Tracking critical drops (e.g., active users fall 20% week-over-week). - Product launches (are people using the new feature?). - Churn spikes.
What to avoid: - Alert fatigue—don’t set up daily “FYI” reports unless you want to tune them out. - Sharing dashboards with everyone “just in case.” People will ignore them.
How to set up: 1. On your metric, look for alert/notification settings. 2. Set a threshold (e.g., “if active users < 500”). 3. Choose recipients—keep it tight.
Pro tip: Review your alerts every month. If nobody’s acting on them, turn them off.
Step 6: Review and Iterate—Don’t “Set and Forget”
Dashboards are only useful if they get checked (and updated). Don’t let your hard work rot.
What to do: - Schedule a quick review (weekly or bi-weekly) to look at your key metrics. - Ask: “Are these still the right numbers?” and “What’s changed?” - Update or kill off any charts that nobody uses.
What not to do: - Treat the dashboard as a report card. It’s a tool for learning, not a grade. - Keep metrics around just because someone once asked for them.
Pro tip: If you start ignoring a metric, there’s probably a reason—either it’s not useful, or it’s not clear enough. Fix or delete it.
Honest Takes: What Grow Is Good At—And Where It Falls Short
Where Grow shines: - It’s much easier to use than most BI tools—good for business users, not just data nerds. - Decent integration options for the usual SaaS stack. - It’s fast to get a working dashboard once your data is clean.
Where it struggles: - Complex calculations or advanced cohort analysis can be clunky compared to specialized tools. - Real-time data isn’t its strong suit. If you need second-by-second updates, look elsewhere. - Some integrations (especially for custom or legacy systems) need babysitting.
Bottom line: If you’re a typical SaaS company who wants actionable product usage metrics without hiring a data team, Grow is usually “good enough”—with fewer headaches than most.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Chase Shiny Objects
You don’t need a PhD in analytics to get real value out of Grow. The hardest part is deciding what not to track, and making sure your data is good enough. Start with the basics, tune your dashboards as your product evolves, and don’t be afraid to delete stuff that doesn’t help.
There’s always a fancier tool or more complicated metric out there. Resist the urge. Clear, simple, and useful wins every time.