🔎 Discover The 'Hidden' Metrics Killing Your Growth

Hey there,

Welcome back to another edition of Bootstrapped Growth. 👋

Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics. We cover the hidden metrics that need consistent tracking so you can outperform competitors.

Table of Contents

• 🚀 Strategy

• ⭐️ Extra Tips

• 🛠️ Resources

Thanks for reading. Let’s jump in!

🚀 3 Things To Focus On For Tracking

1)  Track Frequency Per User; Not Just Login Activity

Slack (messaging platform) discovered 40% of their ‘active’ users sent fewer than 5 messages per month. These low-engagement or ‘ghost’ users blocked expansion by rarely upgrading or renewing contracts. Slack began to identify and re-engage users early to increase enterprise retention by 28%.

Takeaway ➡️ Track engagement depth, not just activity. Users who barely interact with your core features are hidden churn risks.

2) Focus On Feature Breadth Adoption

Stripe (payments platform) had huge integration debt until they began measuring ‘API call diversity’ across customer accounts. They found that companies with ‘shallow integration’ used only 1-2 endpoints. They were 5x more likely to churn than those using 5+ different API calls. Now, Stripe prioritizes getting customers to implement multiple endpoints early in onboarding.

Takeaway ➡️ Measure feature breadth adoption vs surface level adoption.

3) Track Time-To-First-Value Metrics

When Shopify started tracking ‘time to first sale’, they discovered that 60% of new stores took over 30 days to make their first transaction. Even if fast set-up metrics looked good, delayed revenue generation often led to early churn. Shopify improved 90 day retention by 45% by optimizing for faster first sales versus simply faster signups.

Takeaway ➡️ Track time-to-first-value metrics that matter to customers' goals, and not just platform adoption.

⭐️ Other Metrics To Focus On

1. Revenue Health: Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) Cohorts. Track how much revenue each monthly signup group contributes over time. You’ll see if your product quality and market fit are improving or declining with each customer batch.

2. Operational Efficiency: Customer Acquisition Cost Payback Period. Measure how many months it takes to recover acquisition costs. Aim for under 12 months to maintain cash flow velocity.

3. Cash Flow: Monthly Cash Burn vs Monthly Cash Generation. Track when these lines cross for profitability timeline clarity and ultimate survival.

🛠 Useful Resources

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