Define Your Customer KPIs with AARRR Pirate Metrics - Lesson Preview

Part 5 (of 11)

What Are Pirate Metrics?

Pirate Metrics are Smart KPIs

In this lesson about Pirate Metrics (AARRR), we show you how to define and leverage 5 simple Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that provide absolute clarity about strengths and opportunities within your customer lifecycle

We guide you step-by-step through the process of identifying each stage within your organization--from stranger to customer to evangelist. Then, we bring it home by illustrating real-life examples of how to leverage the Pirate Metric stage when making important decisions about Sales, Marketing, and Service.

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Lesson Coverage

This 5th installment (of 11) of the Experimental Marketing Strategy course & certification, was designed to help business leaders and practitioners of Growth understand the customer journey so that you can meet them where they are with what they need. This lesson focuses on Pirate Metrics (AARRR), critical marketing metrics specific to your business. In this lesson, you'll learn about:

How It Works Growth is about more than improving customer acquisition rates, and Pirate Metrics diversifies our efforts Get the full course - FREE Pirate Metrics Stages Break down each stage of the customer journey, and define Pirate Metric conversions. Get the full course - FREE Application Implement a strategic, day-to-day application of Pirate Metrics in your experiments for optimized results. Get the full course - FREE

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Pirate Metrics? Pirate Metrics is a growth framework based on five key stages of the customer journey: Acquisition, Activation, Revenue, Retention, and Referral (AARRR — like a pirate!). It helps growth teams measure and optimize the full customer experience, not just the top of the funnel.

Why should I use Pirate Metrics instead of traditional KPIs?

Most KPIs are siloed and activity-focused. Pirate Metrics tracks customer behavior across the funnel, helping you pinpoint drop-off points and growth levers with greater accuracy. It aligns your team around outcomes that actually move revenue, not just vanity metrics.

Is this relevant for B2B businesses or just B2C apps? Pirate Metrics is absolutely relevant for B2B. In fact, Pirate Metrics gives B2B companies clarity on complex buyer journeys — from lead capture (Acquisition) to expansion revenue (Retention and Referral). We tailor AARRR to both self-serve and sales-led funnels.

How do I know which Pirate Metric to prioritize? Start by mapping your funnel and identifying where the biggest leaks are. For example, if you're getting leads but no product engagement, focus on Activation. If churn is killing your growth, Retention becomes your North Star. Take the lesson to learn more!

How does Pirate Metrics integrate with the NPOT or ICE framework? Pirate Metrics informs Impact scoring within the ICE framework — because the metric you affect (e.g. Revenue vs. Activation) directly changes the value of an experiment. NPOT helps link each tactic to a metric, ensuring execution stays aligned with strategy.

Decode Your Customer Journey

Experimental Marketing Strategy

Growth isn’t random — it follows a pattern. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the Pirate Metrics framework (AARRR) to understand and influence every stage of your customer journey: Acquisition, Activation, Revenue, Retention, and Referral.

You’ll see how each stage connects to your North Star Metric and how experiments across the funnel compound to drive measurable, sustainable growth.

Unlock this lesson and the full course through Catalyst Hub. Your 7-day free trial includes:

The AI Marketing Companion, your personal strategist for mapping experiments to each AARRR stage
Interactive worksheets and dashboards for tracking funnel performance
Access to the complete Experimental Marketing Strategy course and certification exam

Master the metrics that matter. Build growth that lasts. It's free for 7 days, then $27/mo.

Articles about the Pirate Metric Framework

Are your digital marketing KPIs leading you astray? Learn how aarrr metrics (aka Pirate Metrics) is changing how businesses invest in marketing with our latest articles.

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