8 Customer Journey Analytics Your Customer Success Team Needs to Track
The 8 customer journey analytics every customer success team should track — retention, product usage, churn, onboarding time, NPS, response times, and more.
TL;DR
- Customer success teams should track eight customer journey analytics: customer retention rate, product usage (DAU/MAU ratio), churn rate, average days to onboard, Net Promoter Score, average first response and resolution times, product engagement, and late invoice payments.
- DAU/MAU usage doesn't always equal value — a customer can log in, fail to find their solution, and still churn — so it should be combined with the other metrics.
- Late invoice payments can be a red flag that a customer isn't getting the desired benefit from the product, not just a financial issue.
It's important to map out and monitor your customers' journey to ensure you and your team are doing everything in your power to increase retention and lower churn rates.
That’s why we've compiled some of the best customer journey analytics that customer success teams and CSMs should track so everyone – from executive leadership to CSMs – can better understand the end customer.
#1 Customer Retention Rate
Your customer retention rate will show you the number of customers that have stayed for the long haul over a specific period of time. The higher this rate, the better. It should come as no surprise that it’s much easier to retain an existing customer than landing a brand new one. Your loyal customers are the ones you can count on for recurring income, which is important in any business.
#2 Product Usage – DAU/MAU Ratio
Your product usage rate highlights the level at which your customers engage with your product/solution. When you look at the growth/decline of your Daily Active Users (DAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU), you can better understand how many clients log in and use your service successfully.
It's important to remember this metric doesn't always equal value. This is because a customer can log in, not understand/find their solution, and eventually churn. Keep your DAU/MAU in mind, but be sure to combine it with the other metrics in this list to fully understand your company's average customer journey.
#3 Churn Rate
You want to have a low customer churn rate as this indicates how many of your customers are leaving your company. While we all want a zero percent churn rate, this is simply not possible. Take customer churn as an opportunity to speak with your past customers about what difficulties they faced with your product/service. You may be able to win them back. Whether you do or don't, be sure to apply their feedback to future product/solution updates to ensure you provide the best for your current and future customers.
#4 Average Days to Onboard (ADO)
This metric is an important one to consider because you don't want your average days to onboard to be so high that your customers don’t experience value from your product/solution early on. The goal is to ensure that the first 90 days of your customer’s experience is positive and insightful since this is a crucial and defining time in how your customer will view the relationship with your company moving forward. First impressions are hard to change, do make sure the ADO is low enough to impress your new customer without scarifying on the quality of information and training provided.
#5 Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is a well-known metric used by many B2B companies to understand how a customer views the company and/or product. A survey is used to gain a scare from zero to 10 over a variable number of questions. When you have a high NPS, it’s easier to be assured that you have more promoters for your company and/or product than detractors.
#6 Average First Response and Resolution Times
To understand if you are meeting the needs of your customers when they experience an issue, keep track of your average first response time and average resolution time. Customers want answers and solutions immediately when they are having challenges. An issued ticket to customer support is bound to happen at some point in their customer journey. If your metrics show the responses are high, work together to find a solution and lower the average waiting time for your customers.
#7 Product Engagement
Your customers should want to engage with your product as often as necessary to deliver the solution they desire. Your most active customers will be able to point out the parts of your program that need the most attention and are the most popular. If your product has overall low product engagement, this may not be a bad sign. It could just mean your product does what it promises without requiring too much time.
However, if your product requires a hands-on approach, this metric may indicate you need to begin reaching out to customers to find out how you can help them have a better experience with your product/solution.
#8 Late Invoice Payments
Late payments could point out more than just financial issues with the customer's company. It could be a red flag indicating they do not feel they are getting the desired benefit from your product/solution.
Establish the Right Metrics for Your Customer Success Team
Customer journey analytics are exciting metrics that can help your business succeed and better serve your client based. If you want to learn more information beyond the metrics we provided in this list, download our FREE e-book, The Ultimate Guide to SaaS Customer Success Metrics!
Frequently Asked Questions
What customer journey metrics should customer success teams track?
Why isn't product usage alone a good measure of customer value?
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