What is MAU?

MAU, or Monthly Active Users, is a metric used in Customer Success (CS) to measure the number of unique users who interact with a product or service during a given month. 

This metric is critical because it helps Customer Success Managers (CSMs) understand user engagement levels and overall product adoption. 

In this blog, we’ll break down the basics of the MAU metric, explain why it matters for your Customer Success objectives, and explain how you can use it to drive proactive strategies. 

How to Calculate MAU

‍

MAU is calculated by counting the total number of distinct users who’ve taken a specific action – like logging in or making a purchase – within a 30-day period. If you’re trying to calculate your MAU, there are a few steps you should follow first:

1. Define 'active'

Determine what qualifies a user as "active" within your product or service. Common criteria for active users include logging in, completing specific actions (e.g., submitting a form, making a purchase), or interacting with key features. The definition of "active" can vary based on your product's goals.

2. Collect user activity data

Track user activity for the entire month using tools like Customer Success platforms, analytics software, or internal logs. Ensure you are capturing each unique user’s interaction during the month.

3. Remove duplicates

Each user should only be counted once, regardless of how many times they interacted with the product during the month. This ensures you are measuring unique users rather than total sessions or actions.

4. Total unique active users

After filtering the data, count the total number of unique users who meet your "active" criteria over the month.

For example, if 5,000 unique users interacted with your platform at least once in a given month, your MAU would be 5,000.

Now that you understand what the MAU metric is and how it works, we’ll explore why it matters.

Why MAU matters

When tracked consistently, MAU offers valuable insights that can shape your strategies and help you maintain a healthy customer base. Here’s how:

Monitoring customer health

MAU serves as a pulse check on user engagement. By tracking it over time, you can spot trends indicating rising engagement or potential churn. 

For instance, if MAU starts to dip, it could signal that users are losing interest, prompting a deeper look into what's driving this change.

There’s also a strong connection between MAU and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). A stable or growing MAU suggests that users find ongoing value in your product, which can positively impact their long-term relationship with your company.

Guiding Customer Success strategies

Regularly tracking MAU allows you to make informed decisions about customer engagement, onboarding, and retention efforts. 

For example, if you notice a decline in MAU, it might be time to revisit your onboarding process or adjust your engagement strategies to meet user needs better.

Next, let’s dive into how to use these insights to drive proactive Customer Success strategies that keep your users engaged and loyal. 

Using MAU to drive proactive Customer Success strategies

Once you understand your MAU trends, the next step is to leverage this data to proactively address customer needs and reduce churn. Here’s how you can do that:

1. Segmenting users by activity levels

Break down your user base into segments like highly active, at-risk, and dormant users. This helps you tailor your approach – engaging highly active users to maintain their momentum, re-engaging at-risk users before they churn, and figuring out why dormant users have stopped interacting altogether.

2. Implementing targeted engagement campaigns

Use the insights from your MAU data to design engagement campaigns that resonate with each segment. For example, send personalized offers to highly active users or provide additional resources to help at-risk users find more value in your product.

3. Integrating MAU with other Customer Success tools

Combine MAU data with other metrics, like your customer health score, to get a more comprehensive view of account health. Monitoring these metrics together can reveal deeper insights and help you take timely actions to improve customer satisfaction and retention.

4. Uniting data across teams

It’s crucial to integrate information from sales, marketing, and product teams to make the most of your MAU data. This holistic view enables more informed decision-making and ensures your Customer Success strategies are aligned with overall business objectives.

Next, let’s explore the best practices that can help you track MAU effectively and maximize these insights.

Best practices for tracking MAU effectively

To effectively leverage MAU data, you need the right tools and methodologies for tracking and analysis. 

Look for a comprehensive CS platform that tracks MAU and integrates it with other key metrics, like customer health scores. This integration gives you a fuller picture of your customer’s journey and helps you make more informed decisions.

By aligning MAU with other important metrics, you can better identify trends, anticipate customer needs, and take proactive steps to improve retention.

You can do this by creating a custom dashboard that combines MAU with other engagement metrics to provide a holistic view of customer behavior. This approach helps you see the bigger picture and spot potential issues before they become problems.

By using the right tools and following these best practices, you’ll be better equipped to track MAU and make data-driven decisions that enhance Customer Success. 

Key Takeaways:

• Monthly Active Users (MAU) measures the number of unique users interacting with your product or service within a month, helping Customer Success Managers (CSMs) track engagement and adoption.
• The process of calculating MAU includes defining active users, collecting user activity data, removing duplicates, and counting the total unique active users.
• MAU serves as a key indicator of customer health, helping you track trends in user engagement and spot early signs of churn.
• A stable or growing MAU suggests users see ongoing value in your product, positively impacting CLV.
• Use MAU insights to adjust Customer Success strategies, such as onboarding processes or engagement efforts, to improve retention.
• Break down users into segments (highly active, at-risk, dormant) to personalize engagement efforts.
• Use MAU data to launch personalized campaigns for each user segment, helping you re-engage or reward users based on activity.
• Integrate MAU with customer health scores and other CS tools for a fuller view of account health.
• Sharing MAU data across sales, marketing, and product teams ensures more informed, aligned decision-making for Customer Success.
• Create dashboards that integrate MAU and other key engagement metrics for a holistic view of customer behavior and better decision-making.