If you’re leading or advising a B2B team that’s shopping for analytics, you’ve probably heard of Amplitude. But most of the advice out there is either vague, focused on B2C use cases, or drowns you in a laundry list of features that don’t actually matter. Here’s a no-nonsense look at what you should really care about—features and integrations that actually make Amplitude work for B2B teams, plus a few pitfalls to watch for.
Who This Is For
This guide is for product managers, data leads, and ops folks at B2B SaaS companies—especially if your product is more complicated than a mobile game or e-commerce site. If you need to answer questions like “Which accounts are at risk?” or “Which features drive upgrades?” and your users don’t all look the same, keep reading.
Core Features That Actually Matter for B2B
Not every Amplitude feature is useful for a B2B setup. Here’s what to focus on:
1. Account-Level Analytics (a.k.a. "Group Analytics")
Why it matters:
B2B products live and die by account behavior, not just individual users. You need to see what entire companies are doing, not just one power user.
What works:
Amplitude has “Group Analytics,” which lets you aggregate events and properties at the company/account level. This is the bare minimum for B2B analytics.
What to check:
- Can you track users who belong to multiple accounts (common in B2B)?
- How easy is it to change group definitions later? (It’s a pain in most tools.)
- Are group properties updated automatically, or do you need to maintain them outside Amplitude?
Ignore:
If you see “cohorts” and “segments” pitched as B2B features, remember: They’re useful, but only if you can group by account—not just user.
2. Flexible Event Tracking (and Clean Data)
Why it matters:
If your tracking plan is a mess, your analysis will be too. B2B products have complex flows—think invitations, permissions, nested projects.
What works:
Amplitude’s event schema tools help, but expect to invest serious time in setup. Their “event taxonomy” lets you define and enforce naming conventions.
What to check:
- Can your team easily see which events are noisy or unused?
- Does Amplitude flag or block bad data, or just let it in?
- How easy is it to change event names/descriptions later?
Pro tip:
Have a real plan for naming events and properties. Otherwise, you’ll spend half your time cleaning up after yourself.
3. Funnel and Retention Analysis
Why it matters:
You want to know where teams get stuck or drop off. B2B funnels are rarely simple—users might bounce between features or involve multiple stakeholders.
What works:
Amplitude’s funnel and retention tools are strong, letting you build multi-step funnels and see drop-off points. You can analyze by user, account, or custom properties.
What to check:
- Can you view funnels at the account level?
- How easy is it to create custom funnels (not just sign-up → pay)?
- Can you break down by properties like plan type or region?
Ignore:
The “path analysis” visualizations look cool but often confuse more than they clarify for B2B. Stick to funnels unless you have a very clear question.
4. Custom Dashboards and Reporting
Why it matters:
B2B teams need tailored metrics—maybe you care about active seats per account, or which companies use a new feature.
What works:
Amplitude dashboards are flexible, and you can share them with stakeholders. You can mix user-level and account-level charts.
What to check:
- Can you schedule reports to send to Slack or email?
- How much control do you have over dashboard layouts?
- Is access control granular? (Can you keep sensitive account data private?)
Pro tip:
Don’t try to build a dashboard for every stakeholder. Start with a few key views and expand only when you see what gets used.
5. User and Account Properties (a.k.a. Metadata)
Why it matters:
You’ll want to filter by things like account plan, user role, signup channel, industry, or region. This context turns raw event data into insights.
What works:
Amplitude lets you send custom properties with events. You can update them as your business changes.
What to check:
- How are properties updated (manual, API, integration with your CRM)?
- Is there a limit on the number of properties?
- How easy is it to manage property changes over time?
Ignore:
“Auto-captured properties” sound great but rarely give you what you need in B2B. Plan to define most properties yourself.
Integrations That Actually Save You Time
Don’t get distracted by “integrates with 100+ tools!”—most won’t help you. Here’s what’s actually useful for B2B teams:
1. CRM Integration (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
Why it matters:
You need to connect product usage to revenue and pipeline. Integrating with your CRM means you can analyze how product adoption affects sales.
What works:
Amplitude has native integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot, but setup can be finicky. Usually, you’ll push account IDs and plan data into Amplitude.
Watch out for:
- Some fields update only one way (from CRM to Amplitude, not the other way around).
- Data syncs can lag; don’t expect real-time updates.
- Mapping users to accounts can get tricky if your data isn’t clean.
2. Data Warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift)
Why it matters:
If you have a data team, you’ll want to blend Amplitude data with broader business data. Warehouses are the source of truth.
What works:
Amplitude’s “Data Destinations” let you export raw events to your warehouse. “Data Sources” let you import from your warehouse too.
Watch out for:
- Exporting costs can add up if you’re pushing lots of data.
- Schemas sometimes don’t map cleanly; expect some setup pain.
- Don’t assume all event properties will land in your warehouse by default—check the mapping.
3. Customer Messaging (Intercom, Marketo, etc.)
Why it matters:
Triggering messages based on product behavior is powerful—think onboarding nudges, upsell prompts, or alerting CSMs about low engagement.
What works:
Amplitude can send audience lists or trigger events in tools like Intercom or Marketo.
Watch out for:
- Audience syncs are usually batch-based (not instant).
- Privacy and opt-in rules: Make sure you’re not blasting the wrong people.
- You’ll need to coordinate with marketing/CSM teams to avoid confusion.
4. BI and Visualization Tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI)
Why it matters:
Sometimes Amplitude dashboards aren’t enough—or your execs just want everything in Tableau.
What works:
Amplitude can push data to some BI tools, but often you’ll need to export to your warehouse first, then connect BI.
Watch out for:
- Visualizations in Amplitude and BI tools can disagree (different filters, definitions, or data lag).
- Don’t expect pixel-perfect exports—plan for some manual cleanup.
5. Identity and Access Management (Okta, SSO)
Why it matters:
You don’t want analytics data walking out the door when an employee leaves.
What works:
Amplitude supports SSO and role-based access.
Watch out for:
- Some advanced permissioning (e.g. restricting by account) is limited.
- SSO setup isn’t always plug-and-play—budget some time with IT.
What Not to Worry About (For Now)
Some features sound impressive but rarely matter for B2B teams starting out:
-
“Predictive Analytics” and Machine Learning:
These features look good in demos, but unless you have a huge dataset and a data science team, you’ll get more value from just tracking the basics well. -
In-app Guides and Experiments:
Amplitude’s A/B testing and messaging are basic compared to dedicated tools. You’ll probably want to use something else for experiments. -
Mobile-First Features:
Unless your B2B product is mobile-heavy (rare), don’t get distracted by mobile SDK bells and whistles.
Honest Pros and Cons for B2B Teams
Here’s the real talk:
What works: - Account-level analytics is a must, and Amplitude does it decently. - Dashboarding is flexible (if a bit fiddly at times). - Integrations with major CRMs and warehouses are possible, if not always smooth.
What doesn’t: - Event tracking setup is time-consuming—don’t underestimate it. - Managing properties and mapping users to accounts gets hairy fast. - Some integrations require IT or engineering help (not just “click to connect”).
What to ignore: - Hype about AI and “next-gen analytics”—it’s not magic. - Any feature you don’t actually have a use case for (yet).
Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Picking an analytics platform for a B2B team is mostly about getting the basics right—good event tracking, clear dashboards, and just enough integrations to tie analytics to revenue and product adoption. Don’t try to do everything at once. Start with a small set of events, make sure account-level analytics works for your setup, and only add complexity as you see real value. The tools will change, but the basics rarely do. Keep it simple and stay focused on what helps your team make better decisions.