It’s easy to feel successful when sign-ups climb. But vanity metrics (downloads, page views, followers) don’t tell you whether people find lasting value. These do.
The metrics that matter
1. Activation. The share of new users who reach the “aha moment”, the first experience of real value. For a payments app it might be the first successful payment. For an edtech app, finishing the first module. Define yours precisely.
2. Retention. The share of users still active after 1, 4 and 12 weeks. Group users by the week they joined (a cohort) and track each group separately. A healthy product’s retention curve flattens instead of falling to zero.
3. Engagement. Daily or weekly active users (DAU/WAU), sessions per user, and actions per session. Choose what fits your product’s natural frequency: a tax tool is used yearly, a grocery app weekly.
4. Referral. Are users inviting others? Organic word of mouth is one of the strongest signals of fit.
5. Revenue metrics. Conversion to paid, average revenue per user, and churn (Level 3).
6. Satisfaction. The Sean Ellis question: “How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?” If a large share of active users say “very disappointed” (around 40% is a commonly cited benchmark), you’re onto something. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is another common measure.
Pick one North Star
Choose a single North Star metric that captures the value you deliver. Examples: “weekly orders delivered” or “students completing a module each week”. Align the team around moving it.
Set up tracking early
- Use a product-analytics tool, or even a spreadsheet at first.
- Log key events: sign-up, activation, core action, payment.
- Review metrics weekly. Write down what you’ll change and what you expect to happen.
Your takeaway
If retention is weak, fix the product before spending on growth. Pouring users into a leaky bucket burns cash. You’ve finished Level 5. Next: get your first customers.