growth-strategy

Start by defining a North Star Metric that captures core user value, then diagnose each AARRR funnel stage against benchmarks. Fix retention before acquisition, design a primary growth loop, and prioritize experiments using ICE scoring.

AARRR stands for Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, and Referral, the five stages of the user lifecycle. Each stage has benchmark metrics, such as 20-40% signup-to-activation and 2-5% free-to-paid conversion, used to diagnose funnel weaknesses.

Score each experiment on Impact, Confidence, and Ease from 1 to 10, then average the three scores. Rank experiments by ICE score and run the highest-scoring ones first with a defined hypothesis, metric, and sample size.

Funnels are linear sequences where users move through stages once, while growth loops are self-reinforcing cycles where output feeds new input. Loop types include viral, content, paid, and sales loops, each with metrics like viral coefficient or LTV:CAC ratio.

Fix retention first whenever the retention curve trends toward zero instead of flattening, since acquiring users into a leaky bucket wastes spend. Diagnose churn causes through cohort analysis and churned-user interviews before scaling any acquisition channel.