The world of software-as-a-service (SaaS) is constantly evolving, and companies need to stay on top of the latest trends. Keeping track of certain KPIs helps enterprises analyze their performance in the ever-changing market. By understanding which SaaS KPIs are most important for growth and profitability, you can make more informed decisions to positively affect your bottom line.
In this article, we'll explore the top 12 KPIs you should be tracking in your real-time BI dashboard for SaaS analytics. With a thorough understanding of these key data points, you can make informed decisions, optimize your business strategies, and drive tangible results.
12 key SaaS metrics and KPIs to track
Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) refers to the predictable and recurring revenue generated by your SaaS business on a monthly basis. It includes subscription fees, recurring charges, and any other predictable revenue streams. Tracking MRR is vital because it provides a clear picture of your revenue stability and growth trajectory.
To calculate this SaaS metric, sum up the monthly revenue generated from all your active subscribers or contracted customers. This visibility empowers you to identify trends, assess the impact of pricing changes, and evaluate the success of your go-to-market efforts. It also helps you understand your revenue stream's health and make informed decisions about scaling your business.
To improve this, focus on acquiring new customers, upselling and cross-selling to existing customers, and reducing churn. Implementing effective pricing strategies, optimizing your product offerings, and providing exceptional customer experiences, are also strategies you can employ to grow MRR.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) represents the cost incurred to acquire a new customer. Advertising, marketing campaigns, salaries, and commissions—these marketing and sales expenses, and others like it, are all calculated into this metric. Monitoring this SaaS KPI is crucial because it helps you understand the effectiveness of your customer acquisition efforts.
To calculate CAC, divide the total acquisition costs within a specific period by the number of new customers acquired during that period. Measuring CAC enables you to understand how much money you are spending to acquire a single customer, effectively measuring the efficiency of your go-to-market strategies. A thorough, up-to-date understanding of this metric helps you optimize your acquisition strategies, allocate resources effectively, and ensure sustainable business growth.
To reduce CAC, focus on improving the targeting and efficiency of your marketing campaigns, optimizing your conversion funnels, and nurturing leads effectively. Implementing customer referral programs, leveraging content marketing, and optimizing your sales processes can help lower your CAC and improve overall profitability.
Churn rate measures the percentage of customers who cancel or stop using your SaaS product or service during a specific period. It reflects customer dissatisfaction, product-market fit, and the effectiveness of your retention strategies. Monitoring churn rate is crucial because retaining existing customers is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
To calculate this SaaS metric, divide the number of customers lost during a specific period by the total number of customers at the beginning of that period. Measuring churn rate helps you identify potential issues, improve your product or service, and implement effective customer retention strategies. It allows you to focus on reducing churn, increasing customer loyalty, and maximizing customer lifetime value.
To reduce churn rate, prioritize customer success and satisfaction, provide exceptional support and onboarding experiences, and regularly engage with your customers. Analyzing churn reasons, addressing product gaps, and continuously improving your offering based on customer feedback can significantly impact churn reduction and increase customer retention.
Customer lifetime value (CLTV) represents the total revenue a customer generates throughout their entire lifecycle as a paying customer. It considers their subscription length, average revenue per period, and the likelihood of renewals or additional purchases. Understanding this SaaS KPI is vital because it helps you evaluate the long-term profitability and sustainability of your business.
To calculate this SaaS KPI, multiply the average revenue per period by the average customer lifespan. Measuring CLTV allows you to segment your customers based on their value, allocate resources accordingly, and optimize your marketing and retention efforts. It also helps you identify high-value customers and develop strategies to increase their lifetime value.
To increase CLTV, focus on providing exceptional customer experiences, nurturing customer loyalty, and implementing effective upselling and cross-selling strategies. By offering personalized recommendations, delivering ongoing value, and addressing customer needs proactively, you can maximize CLTV and drive long-term revenue growth.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) measures the average revenue generated per user or customer within a specific period. It helps you understand the revenue potential of each customer and assess the effectiveness of your pricing and packaging strategies. Tracking ARPU is crucial because it enables you to optimize your monetization efforts and drive sustainable revenue growth.
To calculate this SaaS metric, divide the total revenue generated within a specific period by the total number of users or customers during that period. Measuring ARPU allows you to identify revenue trends, evaluate the impact of pricing changes, and segment customers based on their spending behavior. It also helps you optimize your pricing, packaging, and marketing strategies.
To boost ARPU, consider introducing tiered pricing plans, offering premium features or add-ons, and implementing effective upselling and cross-selling strategies. Conduct market research, analyze customer needs, and align your pricing strategies with the value you provide to encourage customers to upgrade their subscriptions and increase their average spend.
Conversion rate measures the percentage of website or landing page visitors who take a desired action, such as signing up for a free trial, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase. It indicates the effectiveness of your marketing and sales funnels in converting leads into customers. Tracking conversion rate is crucial because it helps you optimize your conversion strategies and improve overall revenue generation.
To calculate conversion rate, divide the number of conversions by the total number of visitors and multiply by 100. Measuring this SaaS metric allows you to identify bottlenecks in your conversion process, optimize user experience, and increase the efficiency of your marketing campaigns. It also helps you make data-driven decisions to drive higher conversion rates and achieve your business goals.
To improve conversion rate, focus on optimizing your website or landing page design, streamlining the conversion process, and implementing persuasive and compelling call-to-action (CTA) strategies. Conduct A/B testing, analyze user behavior, and iterate on your messaging and design elements to drive higher conversion rates and maximize your marketing ROI.
Gross margin reflects the profitability of your SaaS business after accounting for the direct costs associated with delivering your product or service. Monitoring this SaaS KPI is crucial because it helps you assess your business's financial health and profitability.
To calculate this SaaS KPI, subtract cost of goods sold (COGS) from total revenue, then divide the result by total revenue and multiply by 100. Measuring gross margin allows you to understand the profitability of your product or service offerings, assess pricing strategies, and optimize your cost structure. It helps you make informed decisions about pricing adjustments, cost management, and overall business profitability.
To improve gross margin, consider negotiating better vendor or supplier contracts, optimizing your supply chain, and implementing cost-saving measures without compromising quality. Analyze your cost structure, identify areas for improvement, and focus on increasing operational efficiency to maximize gross margin and enhance your bottom line.
CSAT is a metric that measures customer satisfaction with your product or service based on a survey or feedback mechanism. It provides insights into how well your offering meets customer expectations and how likely they are to recommend your SaaS business to others. Monitoring CSAT is crucial because it helps you gauge customer loyalty, identify areas for improvement, and foster long-term customer relationships.
CSAT is typically measured through surveys using a rating scale or direct feedback—often on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10. Measuring CSAT allows you to identify gaps in customer satisfaction, address customer pain points, and proactively enhance your product or service offering. It also helps you build a loyal customer base and drive positive net promoter score (or word-of-mouth referrals).
To measure CSAT, you can send out customer surveys via email, embed surveys on your website, or utilize third-party feedback platforms. Analyze the survey responses, identify common themes or issues, and take action to address customer concerns. Continuously seek feedback, prioritize customer needs, and invest in continuous improvement to enhance CSAT and drive customer loyalty.
User engagement refers to the level of interaction and activity your users have with your SaaS product or service. It includes metrics such as active users, session duration, feature usage, and overall engagement patterns. Monitoring user engagement is crucial because it indicates how well your SaaS product resonates with users, drives customer satisfaction, and influences retention and growth.
User engagement metrics can vary based on the nature of your SaaS business. You can track metrics like active users, time spent in the app, number of sessions per user, or specific feature usage. Measuring user engagement allows you to identify patterns, understand user behavior, and optimize your product's usability and functionality. It helps you create a compelling user experience and drive long-term user retention.
To build a user engagement strategy, focus on providing valuable and intuitive features, personalizing user experiences, and implementing effective onboarding and user education strategies. Analyze customer analytics like user behavior data, solicit user feedback, and iterate on your product to enhance engagement and keep users actively involved with your SaaS offering.
Customer retention rate measures the percentage of customers who continue to use and renew their subscriptions over a specific period. It reflects the loyalty and satisfaction of your customer base and the effectiveness of your retention strategies. Monitoring customer retention rate is crucial because retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones and overall, this strategy contributes to long-term business sustainability.
To calculate this SaaS KPI, divide the number of customers at the end of a period minus the new customers acquired during that period by the number of customers at the beginning of the period, then multiply by 100. Measuring customer retention rate helps you assess the success of your retention efforts, identify customer satisfaction issues, and implement strategies to reduce churn and increase customer lifetime value.
To improve customer retention, prioritize customer success and support, offer incentives for renewals, and maintain ongoing communication with your customers. Implement proactive customer retention strategies, such as personalized onboarding, regular check-ins, and loyalty programs, to enhance the overall customer experience and foster long-term relationships.
Net promoter score (NPS) is a metric used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It quantifies the likelihood of customers recommending your product or service to others. NPS is an essential metric because it provides insights into customer sentiment and their willingness to become brand advocates, which can directly impact your business growth.
NPS is calculated based on a customer survey that asks one simple question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend or colleague?" Based on their responses, customers are classified into three categories: Promoters (score 9-10), Passives (score 7-8), and Detractors (score 0-6). NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters.
Measuring NPS allows you to assess customer satisfaction, identify areas for improvement, and gauge the potential for organic growth through positive word-of-mouth referrals. It provides a benchmark to track changes in customer sentiment over time and guides your customer-centric strategies.
To improve NPS, focus on enhancing the customer experience at every touchpoint. Listen to customer feedback, address concerns promptly, and implement strategies to exceed expectations. Provide exceptional customer support, personalized interactions, and valuable resources to nurture positive relationships with your customers. Regularly analyze NPS feedback and take actionable steps to address common issues, improve your product or service, and cultivate a loyal customer base.
Return on Investment (ROI) is a SaaS metric that evaluates the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. In the context of SaaS metrics, ROI measures the financial returns generated from your business activities, such as marketing campaigns, product development, or infrastructure investments. Monitoring ROI is crucial because it helps you assess the efficiency and effectiveness of your investments, allocate resources wisely, and maximize your financial outcomes.
ROI is calculated by dividing the gain from the investment by the cost of the investment, then multiplying the result by 100 to get a percentage. Measuring ROI allows you to determine whether an investment is generating positive returns and assess its impact on your overall business profitability. It helps you make informed decisions about resource allocation, prioritize high-ROI initiatives, and optimize your strategies for sustainable growth.
To maximize ROI, it's crucial to carefully evaluate potential investments and focus on initiatives that offer the highest returns. Conduct thorough cost-benefit analyses, consider long-term profitability, and assess the risks associated with each investment. Continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your investments, refine your strategies based on data insights, and make adjustments as needed to optimize ROI. By prioritizing initiatives with a positive ROI, you can ensure the efficient allocation of resources and drive long-term business success.
The future of SaaS dashboards
Dashboards and excel spreadsheet analysis aren’t able to meet the demands on today’s modern business. Your team needs access to real-time, interactive data visualizations to find meaningful insights. They need a Liveboard.
Imagine a go-to-market manager receiving an alert for a problematic CAC, digging into the data to understand which strategies aren’t successful, and even receiving AI-generated insights that suggest the correlation of this declining CAC with the start of a low-performing marketing campaign. This scenario isn’t fictional—it’s absolutely achievable with the modern data stack and the right business analytics solution. That’s why businesses like PetsMart, Snowflake, and OrderPay all rely on ThoughtSpot to build better business intelligence solutions.
Make data-driven decisions with ease
Tracking these SaaS metrics will help your SaaS company analyze and optimize for success. If you're looking for a comprehensive AI-Powered Analytics solution that can help you understand, analyze, and monitor all the essential SaaS business intelligence in one single platform, then ThoughtSpot is the perfect choice for you!
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