Once the customer retention leading indicator is defined, we should assemble a cohort chart illustrating the percentage of newly acquired customers that achieve the leading indicator over time. This approach maximizes the speed by which we can evaluate progress toward product-market-fit. Below is an example of a company measuring their leading indicator by monthly customer cohorts.

We can bring this chart to life using a fictitious company, TeleMed. TeleMed sells software to doctors enabling them to meet with patients over video rather than in-person. A well designed customer retention leading indicator could be:

[Customer Success Leading Indicator] is “True” if 70% of customers conduct a video conference with a patient within 2 months.

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