A measure of customer value
A marketplace might count completed transactions; a collaboration tool might count teams regularly finishing work together. These measures show useful outcomes more clearly than sign-ups or page views. A good metric reflects both customer value and the business’s long-term health. Retention helps show whether customers keep finding value.
One number cannot tell the whole story
Teams also track what drives the metric and check quality, safety, revenue, and how different groups of customers are affected.
A poor choice can encourage the wrong behaviour: counting messages sent could reward spam; counting time spent could reward a confusing product. Teams define exactly what counts and which customers are included, explain how the measure links customer value to business results, and revisit it as the product changes.