How to measure retention through cohort analysis?
In today's data-driven landscape, measuring user retention has evolved into a pivotal practice for businesses across various industries. The ability to track and understand user behavior, engagement, and long-term loyalty is instrumental for fostering sustainable growth and product success.
As a leading solution in the realm of user analytics, Usermaven offers a comprehensive framework for measuring and optimizing user retention. This document will delve into the multifaceted dimensions of user retention within Usermaven, providing insights, strategies, and best practices to help you harness the full potential of your product's user base.
Whether you're operating in the realm of SaaS, on-premise software, or any other domain, Usermaven's retention metrics can empower your journey towards data-driven excellence.
What is user retention?
User retention, in its essence, signifies the continued engagement and utilization of a product, feature, or application by its user base. While assessing feature retention often involves a straightforward check to determine if a feature has been accessed within a specified time frame, gauging retention at the product or app level necessitates more precise parameters. Defining the criteria for what qualifies as meaningful product usage is a pivotal step in retention measurement.
It's essential to delineate whether actions such as simply opening the app or accessing the website constitute usage or if more stringent criteria apply, such as the duration of interaction or the extent to which key features are employed. This distinction serves as the foundation for effective retention analysis.
How to measure user retention?
Once you've established the appropriate time frame for your retention analysis, the calculation process becomes relatively straightforward. It involves taking the initial count of active users at the beginning of that defined period and subtracting from it the count of users who are still actively engaging with your app at the end of the same period. To arrive at the equivalent retention rate, you can simply divide the remaining number by the initial count, providing you with a clear and quantifiable measure of your product's retention performance.
This method can be seamlessly applied within Usermaven, allowing you to gauge user retention with precision and accuracy.
Create a Retention Report
To create a retention report:
Navigate to Product Insights → Retention.
Click the + button in the top-right corner.
Configure your retention report using the available settings.
Period & Analysis
Period Type
Choose the time interval used to measure retention:
Day – Measure retention daily.
Week – Measure retention weekly.
Month – Measure retention every month.
Select a period that best matches how frequently users typically engage with your product.
Analysis Level
Choose how retention should be measured:
User – Measures retention based on individual users.
Company – Measures retention based on companies or accounts.
Include Visitors
Enable Include Visitors to include anonymous visitors in your retention analysis alongside identified users.
Event Configuration
Define the events that determine when users enter and return to a retention cohort.
Start Event
Select the event that places a user into a cohort.
You can choose from:
Page URL – A specific page visit.
Custom Event – A tracked custom event.
Pinned Event – A pinned event you've configured.
After selecting the event type:
Choose the event condition.
Select the specific page URL or event.
Examples:
Signed Up
Started Trial
Visited Pricing Page
Completed Onboarding
Return Event
Select the event that indicates a user has returned.
You can choose from:
Page URL – A specific page visit.
Custom Event – A tracked custom event.
Pinned Event – A pinned event you've configured.
After selecting the event type:
Choose the event condition.
Select the specific page URL or event.
Examples:
Logged In
Viewed Dashboard
Created Project
Completed Purchase
Retention Configuration
Configure any additional retention settings and filters as needed.
Once configured, the retention report will automatically calculate and display retention rates based on your selected cohort and return events.
Analyzing retention in Usermaven
Overall retention curve
The Usermaven Retention Curve is a powerful visualization that depicts the retention rate of users who continue to engage with your app after their initial sign-up. This curve dynamically displays data based on the filters you've applied at the top of the dashboard. If you wish to obtain specific retention rate values at any point along the curve, simply hover your cursor over that particular spot, and the relevant data will be readily available.
This feature makes it easy to extract valuable insights from the retention curve. Additionally, the insights tab located below the graph offers an overall retention overview, providing users with a comprehensive understanding of their product's retention performance.
Cohort analysis
The cohort analysis tab at the bottom of the Usermaven retention dashboard provides a comprehensive retention cohort analysis of users who have engaged with your app following their initial sign-up.
For any specific date range, this analysis furnishes essential information, including the total number of users who initially signed up for your product and the number of users who continued using your product during subsequent time frames that you've selected.
This approach to data representation is not only detailed but also user-friendly, offering valuable insights into user behavior, allowing you to understand who actively uses your product and who may be discontinuing their engagement after the initial interaction.
By delving into these retention cohorts, you gain the power to make informed decisions about product enhancements, customer support, and tailored strategies to keep your users engaged.
The dynamic nature of the data allows you to adapt and evolve with your users, ultimately driving better retention rates and the sustained success of your product. Whether you're aiming to strengthen your user retention strategy or uncover insights that lead to product improvements, Usermaven's cohort analysis equips you with the tools you need to meet your goals effectively.
How to read a cohort analysis table
Retention cohort tables may appear complex at first glance, but understanding their components makes them surprisingly straightforward. Let's break down a retention cohort table step by step:
Cohort
This is the initial period, representing the group of users who performed the selected Start Event during that time. For instance, "Week of Feb 15" signifies the users who entered the cohort during that specific week.
Users
The number next to the cohort period (e.g., "18") is the total number of users who became part of that cohort. In this case, it means 18 users performed the start event during the week of Feb 15.
Period 0
Period 0 always shows 100% retention, as it represents the original cohort. For example, 100% (18) means all 18 users belong to the cohort during the period in which they completed the start event.
First Retention Period
The value in Period 1 shows how many users from the original cohort returned and completed the selected Return Event during the next period. For example, 33.3% (6) means that 6 of the original 18 users returned in Period 1.
Subsequent Periods
Each column following Period 1 represents retention for that cohort in later periods. For instance, 22.2% (4) under Period 2 means that 4 users from the original cohort returned during Period 2. This pattern continues across all subsequent periods.
Percentages and Counts
Each cell displays both the retention percentage and the actual number of returning users. For example, 44.4% (8) means that 8 users returned, representing 44.4% of the original cohort.
Color Intensity
The color shading helps you quickly identify retention trends:
Darker green indicates higher retention.
Lighter shades indicate moderate retention.
Red shades indicate lower retention.
This makes it easy to spot high-performing cohorts and periods where retention drops significantly.
Average Retention
The Average row summarizes retention across all cohorts for each period. This provides a quick overview of overall retention performance without needing to analyze each cohort individually.
Cohort analysis provides invaluable insights into customer retention or revenue, depending on your goals. The real value of cohort analysis emerges when you use this data to make informed decisions and optimize your strategies.
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