SaaS Metrics That Matter
Understand which metrics actually predict business success and how to measure them effectively
The Metrics Hierarchy
Not all metrics are created equal. Focus on metrics that directly correlate with business outcomes:
Tier 1: Business Metrics
- Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): The lifeblood of SaaS
- Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): For enterprise SaaS
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): Total revenue per customer
Tier 2: Leading Indicators
- Activation Rate: % of users completing key actions
- Trial-to-Paid Conversion: Your most critical funnel metric
- Net Revenue Retention: Growth from existing customers
Tier 3: Operational Metrics
- Monthly Active Users (MAU): Engagement indicator
- Feature Adoption: Which features drive retention
- Support Ticket Volume: Product quality indicator
Key Conversion Metrics
Activation Rate
The percentage of new users who complete your defined "activation event" - the moment they experience core value.
Time to Value (TTV)
How long it takes new users to reach their first success moment. Shorter is always better.
Product Qualified Leads (PQLs)
Users who've demonstrated buying intent through product usage patterns.
Measuring What Matters
Create a metrics dashboard that tracks:
- Weekly cohort activation rates
- Trial conversion by acquisition channel
- Feature adoption correlation with retention
- Revenue impact of product changes
Common Measurement Mistakes
- Tracking vanity metrics (page views, downloads)
- Not segmenting by user type or channel
- Measuring outputs instead of outcomes
- Ignoring statistical significance in changes
Track the right metrics
Boostly provides built-in analytics to monitor all your key conversion metrics in one dashboard.