Cohort Retention

Cohort Retention measures how a group of customers acquired in the same period performs over time. By holding the original customer group constant, cohort analysis separates the behavior of existing customers from the impact of new customer acquisition.

Revenue Retention tracks how the revenue generated by a cohort changes relative to its starting period, including the effects of expansion, contraction, and churn. Logo Retention tracks the percentage of the original customers that remain over time. Revenue Retention can exceed 100% when expansion among retained customers more than offsets lost revenue, while Logo Retention cannot exceed 100%.

Cohort Retention can show whether customer economics strengthen, stabilize, or deteriorate as customers mature. Improving retention across newer cohorts can indicate better customer fit, onboarding, or product engagement, while consistent deterioration at a particular point in the customer lifecycle can identify where retention problems emerge.

Revenue and Logo Retention should be evaluated together. Revenue Retention that materially exceeds Logo Retention can indicate that larger or expanding customers are offsetting the loss of smaller accounts, while revenue declining faster than logos can indicate contraction among customers that remain.

MetricFrame groups customers by the period in which they first generate revenue and tracks each cohort from the first period (M1 or Q1) forward. It reports Revenue Retention, Logo Retention, and Cumulative Revenue per Customer, allowing users to compare how different acquisition cohorts perform as they mature. Users can also view cohorts by segment, revenue type, and product to compare retention across different parts of the customer base.