Retention
A company’s ability to keep customers from one period to the next. Retention rate is the complement of churn: 92% annual retention means 8% churn. In SaaS, revenue retention (NRR) matters more than customer count retention.
In practice
Retention is the most underrated growth lever. Improving retention by 5 percentage points often doubles the present value of cash flows over ten years, with no additional acquisition cost. The drivers are predictable: successful onboarding in the first 30 days, regular use of core features, fast resolution of critical issues. A proactive programme that identifies at-risk customers before they churn is profitable as soon as its cost is lower than the CAC.