How early can I measure NRR?

It needs customers who have been with you for a full year. Before that, track logo churn and monthly revenue retention with the same definitions you will use later.

Is churn from customers outside my ICP a problem?

It is a sales problem more than a product problem. Report it, and fix who you sell to before you fix the product for them.

The nine GTM dimensions

Retention health: the customers you already have

Retention health is whether the customers you already have renew, spend more, and stay, and it matters because every customer who leaves has to be replaced before you grow at all. Investors read retention as the clearest sign that the product works.

The three retention numbers

Logo churn counts customers lost. Gross revenue retention (GRR) measures the revenue kept from last year's customers before any expansion. Net revenue retention (NRR) adds expansion back in. GRR shows the leak; NRR shows whether the base grows on its own.

Read the cohorts, not the average

An average hides the story. Group customers by the quarter they signed and watch each group over time. If newer groups churn faster than older ones, something changed: the ICP, the product, or how you sell.

Early signs before renewal

Churn usually shows up in behavior before it shows up in revenue.

Weekly use drops or a key user leaves the customer.
Support tickets rise, or stop entirely.
The customer stops answering renewal or expansion conversations.

Key takeaways

GRR shows the leak; NRR shows whether the base grows.
Read retention by signing cohort, not as one average.
Watch usage, because it moves before revenue does.

Questions founders ask

How early can I measure NRR?: It needs customers who have been with you for a full year. Before that, track logo churn and monthly revenue retention with the same definitions you will use later.
Is churn from customers outside my ICP a problem?: It is a sales problem more than a product problem. Report it, and fix who you sell to before you fix the product for them.

Score your company on retention health

Rate your installed base in the self-score with the other eight dimensions, in a few minutes. It is your own unsigned view, to test against your retention numbers.

Start your GTM Pressure Test

Free calculators for the numbers in this lesson, each with its formula and a worked example.