AARRR Metrics Framework
Connect product metrics to growth levers before you instrument dashboards.
Metrics in this guide
Each card defines one metric — what it measures, how to calculate it, and a typical benchmark.
- Execution
A
Acquisition
How users or customers discover and arrive at your product.
- Formula
- New visitors/signups/MQLs from channel (pick one primary)
- Typical benchmark
- One primary acquisition metric per channel or motion.
- Validation
A
Activation
First experience of core value — user “gets it”.
- Formula
- % reaching defined activation event
- Typical benchmark
- Must match your NSM input, not generic signup.
- Validation
R
Retention
Users or customers return and continue receiving value.
- Formula
- Cohort retention at D7/D30 or logo renewal rate
- Typical benchmark
- Leading indicator for NRR and LTV in subscription businesses.
- Execution
R
Revenue
Monetisation — conversion to paid, expansion, or transaction value.
- Formula
- Conversion rate, ARPA, or expansion ARR
- Typical benchmark
- Tie to pricing model (seat, usage, project).
- Execution
R
Referral
Existing users bring new users or amplify growth.
- Formula
- Referral signups ÷ total signups or k-factor
- Typical benchmark
- Viral coefficient k>1 rare in B2B; track referral % trend.
AARRR (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, Referral) — pirate metrics — maps the customer lifecycle to one primary metric per stage plus input metrics teams can influence. It is a structuring tool, not a dashboard template:
| Stage | Question |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | How do people discover you? |
| Activation | Do they reach first value quickly? |
| Retention | Do they come back or renew? |
| Revenue | How do you monetise? |
| Referral | Do users bring others? |
Your north star often sits across activation and retention — define how it relates to AARRR explicitly.
Teams instrument everything and optimise nothing. AARRR forces choices: one headline metric per stage, named owners, and known data sources. It bridges strategy (NSM, OKRs) and instrumentation (/datastrat) before BI tools multiply vanity charts.
Before dashboard design, analytics hiring, or a growth review. Use after rough PMF and before scaling paid acquisition. Refresh when motion changes (sales-led → PLG) or when a stage metric stops predicting retention.
- Define one primary metric per AARRR stage — not ten.
- Add 1–2 input metrics per stage — leading indicators for weekly reviews.
- Document data sources and owners — CRM, product analytics, finance.
- Align to north star — show which stage feeds NSM movement.
- Flag instrumentation gaps — events missing, definitions inconsistent.
- Set review cadence — weekly ops vs monthly board slice.
- Link to experiments — funnel leaks and
/abtestqueue.
- Definitions written (formula, exclusions, latency).
- NSM relationship explicit — not a sixth conflicting headline.
- Services and NGOs adapt stages (e.g. referral = partner intros, revenue = grant renewals).
- Gaps have owners and dates, not "we need BI."
- Mixing stages — counting signups as activation.
- Metrics without owners — everyone watches, no one acts.
- Copying another company's AARRR — B2B enterprise ≠ PLG consumer.
- Dashboard before taxonomy — pretty charts, untrusted numbers.
Northvale Systems. Acquisition: inbound demos from procurement events. Activation: first supplier onboarded ≤14 days. Retention: active suppliers with quarterly updates. Revenue: module ARR + services. Referral: sister-plant intros. NSM: suppliers onboarded without manual intervention. Gap: no unified event taxonomy — /datastrat first.
PulseWell. Acquisition: HRIS marketplace + content. Activation: first manager nudge delivered. Retention: weekly active managers acting on nudges. Revenue: seat expansion. Referral: HR peer intro. Gap: OAuth failures not logged as funnel events.
Harbor. Acquisition: grant-calendar SEO + referrals. Activation: paid diagnostic delivered. Retention: repeat workshops. Revenue: workshop + retainer. NSM: diagnostic→workshop conversion. Gap: CRM spreadsheets — single source of truth needed.
Clearwater. Acquisition: grants + volunteer networks. Activation: site live on check-in workflow. Retention: monthly check-in compliance. Revenue: grant renewals (restricted). NSM: community days without supply interruption. Proxy: SMS delivery logs until full analytics.
Use this guide for definitions; run /datastrat and /northstar to generate instrumented plans and NSM-001. Cross-link saas-growth-metrics and product-health-metrics for stage-specific depth.
Related techniques
Sources & further reading
- Ellis, S., & Brown, M. (2017). Hacking Growth. Crown Business.