What a retention curve shows
A retention curve shows the fraction of a cohort that remains active over time. Instead of a single churn number, the curve reveals where drop-off happens (activation period vs later months) and whether retention is improving across cohorts.
Logo vs revenue retention
- Logo retention tracks customer count survival (accounts).
- Revenue retention (GRR/NRR) tracks dollars retained and can be high even if logo retention is weak (when expansion offsets churn).
How to use retention curves
- Identify the biggest drop (month 1-3 often indicates activation/onboarding issues).
- Segment by plan, channel, and cohort start month to avoid blended averages.
- Connect to unit economics: retention drives LTV and payback feasibility.
Common mistakes
- Using blended churn to forecast LTV when segments differ materially.
- Assuming constant churn forever (churn often decays over time).
- Looking at NRR alone and missing logo churn problems.