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AARRR

Framework
Foundation

Definition

A framework that maps the customer lifecycle

Related Knowledge

Retention

1. Acquisition (Acquire)

  • Key question: Where are users coming from?
  • Goal: Get people to visit your site or download your app.
  • Tactics: SEO, paid ads (Meta / Google), viral content, content marketing, partnerships.
  • Key metrics: CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), traffic volume.

    • 2. Activation (Activate)

  • Key question: Did new users have a good first experience?
  • Goal: Get users to their first "aha moment" where they experience the core value of the product.
  • Example: For Twitter, activation is not just sign-up, but following a certain number of people.
  • Key metrics: Conversion rate from sign-up to first key action.

    • 3. Retention (Retain)

  • Key question: Do users come back?
  • Goal: Turn one-time users into repeat users. In growth, retention is king. Poor retention makes acquisition like pouring water into a leaky bucket.
  • Tactics: Email sequences, push notifications, in-product nudges, habit loops, gamification.
  • Key metrics: Churn rate, DAU/MAU (Daily Active Users / Monthly Active Users), cohort retention.

    • 4. Referral (Refer)

  • Key question: Do users tell others?
  • Goal: Turn happy users into a growth engine by creating viral loops that reduce CAC.
  • Example: Dropbox offering extra storage for inviting friends.
  • Key metrics: Viral coefficient (K-factor), NPS (Net Promoter Score), invite-to-sign-up rate.

    • 5. Revenue (Revenue)

  • Key question: How do we make money?
  • Goal: Convert active users into paying customers and maximize customer lifetime value.
  • Tactics: Pricing plans, upsells, cross-sells, add-ons, subscriptions.
  • Key metrics: LTV (Customer Lifetime Value), ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), payback period.
    • It does not matter if you get 10,000 visitors (Acquisition) if 99% of them leave immediately (Activation) and never come back (Retention).

    The Modern Twist: RARRA

    In modern growth, especially for mobile apps and SaaS, many teams flip the funnel to RARRA:

  • Retention: Fix the leaky bucket first.
  • Activation: Ensure new users see value fast.
  • Referral: Let happy users bring friends.
  • Revenue: Monetize engaged users.
  • Acquisition: Only then scale paid acquisition to pour fuel on the fire.