1) SaaS executives regularly track customer acquisition metrics like website visitors and new signups, and increasingly want to track customer lifetime value. 2) As businesses mature, executives rely more on metrics for strategic decision making and analysis. 3) Most executives, especially at upstart companies, are dissatisfied with their organization's ability to measure and access important metrics.

1. September 2011
Survey Results
SaaS Businesses
Metrics

2. Table of Content
Methodology 3
Analysis & Insights 5
Survey Data 9

3. About Totango
Totango is real time platform that allow Software-
as-a-Service (SaaS) companies to better
understand their customers.
Totango analyzes in real time customer
engagement and intention within SaaS applications
to help you grow your business.

4. Methodology

5. Totango surveyed 522 of executives at SaaS companies, trying to
understand how they use metrics to run their business.
We aimed to get an industry perspective on questions such as:
- Which metrics are most important for SaaS executives?
- How satisfied are they with the tools & methodology their
organization uses to monitor metrics?

6. Analysis & Insights

7. Majority (87%) of SaaS executives regularly track “CAC related”
1 metrics, with a large percentage (58%) adding or planning to add
tracking of “CLTV related” metrics in the next year.
Executives at SaaS companies regularly monitor the following metrics:
59%
54% 56% 56%
44%
CAC Related
CLTV Related
Website Unique New Signups Conversion Rate Life Time Value Churn Rates
Visitors (Trial to Paying)
Plan to track in the next 12 month:
58%
19%
CAC Related CLTV Related

8. Insights:
• Following metrics related to customer-acquisition is a
common practice by SaaS executives, with growing demand
for life-time vale (LTV) measurement
• As it pertains to CAC, most SaaS organization have a clear
view of what and how to measure metrics (practices & tools).
But for LTV, there is less industry knowledge.
• Similarly, there is a lack of quality tools for “LTV
measurements”, where as most SaaS executives feel CAC
related metrics are well covered with existing tools

9. 2 As SaaS businesses grow and mature, executives increasingly rely
on metrics for strategy and analysis
Percentage of executives that use metrics for strategic decision making
and analysis:
79%
21%
Upstart Company Mature Company

10. Insights:
• As a SaaS business grow, complexity grows and so does the
need to rely on metrics and data for strategic analysis and
decision making. Hence mature companies are willing to
invest to incorporate metrics into their strategic processes.
• In order to reach maturity faster, upstart companies should
aspire to monitor metrics and use them to build a “data aware
strategic framework”

11. Majority of executives (54%) are not satisfied with the “state of
3 metrics” in their organization, with this trend being particularly
strong at “upstart” companies
How SaaS executives feel about the quality and accessibility of
the metrics their organization collects
Not satisfied
Upstart Companies
59%
I can live with it
Satisfied
54%
7% 34%
15%
Mature Companies
24% 42%
11%
47%

12. Insights:
• Most SaaS businesses struggle with home-grown
implementations yet lack comprehensive off the shelves
tools.

13. Survey Data

14. Overview
The survey was taken online by hundreds of world wide executives of SaaS
businesses and reflects different aspects of measuring key metrics for online
services.
Respondents hail from a range of businesses sizes, departments and roles and
answered questions about important metrics measuring habits.
Who are our Respondents? (figure 1-3)
Our respondents are executive level individuals, who work for Product
Management / Marketing / Sales departments (72%) and their companies offer
Free Trial subscription (58%) or Freemium Service (32%).

15. What are They Measuring? (figure 4)
Most of the survey respondent are measuring 4 main metrics:
• Conversion rates from free to paying customers (59%)
• Number of new trial signups or free accounts (56%)
• Web site unique visitors (54%)
• Paying customers churn rate (56%)
Fewer are measuring:
• Social media mentions (31%)
• Account activation rate (31%)
• Upgrade & downgrade rates (21%)
How often? (figure 5)
Most of the survey respondent measure their metrics weekly (36%) or daily (36%)

16. What are the reasons for measuring? (figure 6)
Metrics are usually used as a tactical tool to identify areas to focus on or to
improve (72%)
The respondents use metrics less to help validating strategic decisions and plans
(51%)
Are they happy with their metrics? (figure 7)
Most survey respondent are not satisfied with their executive metrics
measurement and would like to improve it if they could (34%)

17. Figure 1 Break Down by Role
39%
32%
29%
CEO/GM VP Director

18. Figure 2 Break Down by Department
30%
23%
21%
18%
8%
Sales Marketing Customer Product Other
Success Management

19. Figure 3 Break Down by Business Model
Free Trial
58%
Freemium
32%
Enterprise
Sales 10%

20. Figure 4 Metrics that are measured in SaaS businesses
Upgrade & downgrade rates 21%
Account usage statistics 51%
Account activation rate 31%
Lift Time Value 44%
Churn rates (of paying customers) 56%
Conversion rates (free to paying) 59%
Number of new trial/freemium signups 56%
Social Media mentions 31%
Web site unique visitors 54%
* Percentage are more than 100% because of multiple choice option

21. Figure 5 Metrics Frequency Review
It varies 5%
Quarterly 4%
Monthly 9%
Weekly 36%
Daily (or more) 36%
Never 10%

22. Figure 6 Break Down by Metrics Usage
Validate strategic decisions and plans 51%
Tactical tool to identify areas to focus / improve 72%
Monitor the business and its growth 69%
* Percentage are more than 100% because of multiple choice option

23. Figure 7 Satisfaction of existing metric usage
Not satisfied and learned to live with it 27%
Not satisfied and invest on improving it 34%
Good enough 24%
Very pleased 15%