{"id":12946,"date":"2024-09-16T22:05:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T22:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/cohort-analysis-versus-segmentation\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:11:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:11:54","slug":"cohort-analysis-versus-segmentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/cohort-analysis-versus-segmentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Cohort Analysis vs. Segmentation: What\u2019s the Difference and How To Combine Them To Drive Retention?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cohort analysis vs. segmentation \u2014 which method to apply when identifying product growth opportunities and <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/solutions\/customer-retention-software\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">retention strategies<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is both. To analyze different aspects of a business or product, product managers use cohort analysis and customer segmentation. The methods are not interchangeable, but rather complementary.<\/p>\n<p>Here, we\u2019ll talk about the applications of each method and show you how to implement them.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s dive right in!<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"c9viv\"><strong>Summary of cohort analysis vs. segmentation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/cohort-analysis-for-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cohort analysis<\/a> is a time-bound method of <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-user-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">segmenting users.<\/a> When conducting cohort analysis, you must work with customer data from a specific time period.<\/li>\n<li>Cohorts, in turn, are user groups that share common characteristics over a certain period of time or event.<\/li>\n<li>The cohort analysis allows you to pinpoint your business\u2019s bad and good months based on revenue generated, new subscriptions, and churned customers so you can dig deeper and identify the causes.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer segmentation<\/a> is the process of dividing your customer base into different groups based on shared characteristics or behavior. Unlike cohort-based segmentation, user segmentation is not linked to a specific time period.<\/li>\n<li>With user segmentation, you can understand which customers are the largest contributors to revenue and have the highest growth potential, which cannot be done with cohort analysis.<\/li>\n<li>Cohort and segment analysis together will help you identify friction points in a given period and user groups at a high risk of aversion.<\/li>\n<li>Use cohort analysis to identify features that drive the maximum engagement and find obstacles across the customer journey.<\/li>\n<li>Choose to segment users when you want to deliver a better customer experience, increase Customer Lifetime Value, and identify friction points.<\/li>\n<li>To retain customers using both methods, you need to track feature usage and identify the most and least sticky features.<\/li>\n<li>After tracking feature usage, group customers with common behavioral patterns in a given period of time to analyze product adoption over time.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, analyze behavioral cohorts and segments then compare them with one another to identify issues that led to disengaged customers, drop-offs, or stalled users. Then you can go for different customer retention strategies to win users back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"5hafh\"><strong>What is cohort analysis?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/cohort-analysis-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cohort analysis<\/a> is a type of behavioral analytics that helps you see what a sub-section of your users (a \u201ccohort\u201d) is doing within your tool. Unlike the<a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> customer segment<\/a>, the user cohort is a group of users that is observed over a specific time period.<\/p>\n<p>This means that every time you conduct cohort analysis, you have to work with data from a particular time period. Most SaaS companies apply it on a month-to-month basis.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/retention-cohort-report-in-userpilot_3abf4260bf2ba000c8dcf27793f6b459_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/retention-cohort-report-in-userpilot_3abf4260bf2ba000c8dcf27793f6b459_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/retention-cohort-report-in-userpilot_3abf4260bf2ba000c8dcf27793f6b459_800.png\" alt=\"Retention cohort report in Userpilot\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Retention cohort report in <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"4mcbl\"><strong>Why is cohort analysis important in SaaS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cohort analysis will allow you to spot months and seasonal patterns when your product performs poorly or well in terms of revenue generated, new subscriptions, churned customers, etc.<\/p>\n<p>If you compare the churn rate among different cohorts of users, you can see how the churn rate changes based on when they sign up for your tool. This can provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of your product and marketing strategies.<\/p>\n<p>Cohort analysis will also enable you to gather enough user data to identify friction points and other actionable insights.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"f8kh0\"><strong>What is customer segmentation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer segmentation<\/a> is the process of dividing your customer base into different groups based on shared characteristics or behavior (location, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/mrr-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MRR<\/a>, activity, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/good-nps-score\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPS score<\/a>). The primary difference between cohorts is that user behavior segments are not linked to a specific period (unless you really want to).<\/p>\n<p>For instance, use <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/needs-based-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">needs-based customer segments<\/a> to compare how fast users from the cheapest plan adopt the product against enterprise ones. Or any other cases, you want to understand the difference in customers\u2019 behavior towards the same milestone or goal.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"e6ecp\"><strong>Why is customer segmentation important in SaaS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/saas-behavioral-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer segmentation<\/a>, you can understand which group of users are the largest contributors to revenue and have the highest growth potential, which cannot be done with cohort analysis.<\/p>\n<p>This is because you can set any criteria for your segments and analyze their behavior on a deep level, without being limited by time ranges.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you can determine which group of customers reaches the activation point the fastest. You can then dig in and see if this segment generates the most revenue or churns within the first months of product usage.<\/p>\n<p>In a nutshell, customer segmentation provides you with a better understanding of your customers so that you can personalize product messages and delight your customers with tailored strategies like a <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/best-user-onboarding-experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">personalized onboarding experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, segmentation can help you spot user segments that are not profitable as they require lots of resources to attract and retain them.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"bv86n\"><strong>Customer cohorts vs. customer segments: What are the key differences?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Here let\u2019s get straight to the point and compare the main differences between<a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> customer segments<\/a> and cohorts.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"3f592\"><strong>Cohorts are time or event-based<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Cohorts are user groups with shared characteristics over a certain period of time or event\u2014for example, new customers who activated or got stalled in the last 30 days. Here you can see that the cohort is both event-based and time-bound. But time is a crucial factor.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"fjq2n\"><strong>Segments are groups that share common interests and behaviors<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In turn, segments are groups that share the same characteristics and behavior but are not time-bound. These characteristics could be anything from customer size, industry, MRR, location, NPS score, <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-effort-score-survey-template\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer effort score<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cohort-versus-segmentation_41e099134626cb2433722ecf4b7e6cf5_800.webp 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cohort-versus-segmentation_41e099134626cb2433722ecf4b7e6cf5_800.webp 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cohort-versus-segmentation_41e099134626cb2433722ecf4b7e6cf5_800.webp\" alt=\"Cohort vs. segment.\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Cohort vs. segment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"2535t\"><strong>Cohort analysis use cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s get more granular and learn through the most common use cases for cohort analysis for SaaS companies.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"cl8n7\"><strong>Understand customer needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Cohort analysis helps you dig down into the details and understand customers on a deeper level. In other words, cohort analytics enables you to understand what users like\/dislike most about your product as you can gain insights into how a specific customer segment adopts your product features over time.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"b53ir\"><strong>Identify features that drive the maximum engagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You can understand the stickiest features that drive the most engagement or revenue among all customers and specific segments.<\/p>\n<p>Use this data to recognize the most profitable features and make informed decisions about what product updates to prioritize in order to increase the conversion rate into paying customers, increase customer lifecycle or grow <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/saas-metrics-101-ltv-lifetime-value\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LTV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/perform-cohort-retention-analysis-in-userpilot_77a363d24a6f179309bff253f86d42fe_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/perform-cohort-retention-analysis-in-userpilot_77a363d24a6f179309bff253f86d42fe_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/perform-cohort-retention-analysis-in-userpilot_77a363d24a6f179309bff253f86d42fe_800.png\" alt=\"Perform cohort retention analysis in Userpilot\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Perform <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/cohort-retention-analysis\/\">cohort retention analysis<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"bdeb3\"><strong>Figure out how customers react to a new feature<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Use cohort analysis to track down the <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-adoption-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">adoption of new features<\/a>. To do so, you can create cohorts over a specific period, say one month after the product update, to see how customers react to a new feature.<\/p>\n<p>This will help you answer what percentage of users actually find product tweaks useful.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"2ooqv\"><strong>Customer segmentation use cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Here we will go through the three most actionable use cases of user segmentation.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s start!<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"9st87\"><strong>Identify users before they churn<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Using a <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tool<\/a> you can segment users based on their behavior within the product and beyond, you can identify users who are slipping away. Reach out to them before they become completely inactive. By eliminating <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/friction-points\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">friction points<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/b2b-customer-journey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer journey<\/a>, you will <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/reduce-churn-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reduce churn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/segment-disengaged-users-for-churn-insights-in-userpilot_7a782fd5181e0174f374a7c9a3a60fea_800.png 1x, https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/segment-disengaged-users-for-churn-insights-in-userpilot_7a782fd5181e0174f374a7c9a3a60fea_1600.png 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/segment-disengaged-users-for-churn-insights-in-userpilot_7a782fd5181e0174f374a7c9a3a60fea_800.png 1x, https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/segment-disengaged-users-for-churn-insights-in-userpilot_7a782fd5181e0174f374a7c9a3a60fea_1600.png 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/segment-disengaged-users-for-churn-insights-in-userpilot_7a782fd5181e0174f374a7c9a3a60fea_800.png\" alt=\"Segment disengaged users for churn insights in Userpilot\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Segment disengaged users for churn insights in <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"al3qa\"><strong>Deliver a better customer experience and increase customer lifetime value<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Segmenting customers will help you reach out to specific users that need help and guide them. For instance, implement<a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/interactive-walkthroughs-improve-onboarding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> interactive walkthroughs<\/a> as a part of onboarding to get new customers to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/activation-engagement-funnel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the \u201cAha\u201d moment<\/a> in the shortest way possible. The key is to deliver the right in-app experience at the right time so it doesn\u2019t frustrate users.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/segment-users-for-targeted-in-app-help-with-userpilot_b40b77c125651bfab05c4ea22b3c3b9b_800.png 1x, https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/segment-users-for-targeted-in-app-help-with-userpilot_b40b77c125651bfab05c4ea22b3c3b9b_1600.png 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/segment-users-for-targeted-in-app-help-with-userpilot_b40b77c125651bfab05c4ea22b3c3b9b_800.png 1x, https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/segment-users-for-targeted-in-app-help-with-userpilot_b40b77c125651bfab05c4ea22b3c3b9b_1600.png 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/segment-users-for-targeted-in-app-help-with-userpilot_b40b77c125651bfab05c4ea22b3c3b9b_800.png\" alt=\"Segment users for targeted in app help with Userpilot\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Segment users for targeted in app help with <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This will ultimately boost CLV (LTV) following the rule of thumb \u201cthe happier customers\u2014the more revenue&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"1vfgd\"><strong>Drive-up customer retention<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ultimately, customer segmentation can be used to boost your customer retention rate as you will recognize problems or bugs that impair user experience and impact customers\u2019 decisions to churn.<\/p>\n<p>You can proactively reach out to customers and retain them once you collect insights into their <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-usage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">product usage<\/a> and the problems they face.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"e69he\"><strong>How to combine cohort analysis with segmentation to increase retention<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Now let\u2019s have some fun putting knowledge into action!<\/p>\n<p>Here you will learn how to carry out cohort analysis relying solely on user behavior (user segments).<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"cs015\"><strong>Track feature usage and find out the stickiest features<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Let\u2019s begin by understanding what feature tracking means. To learn this, we will use a real-world example.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><em>Product managers want to understand how many customers and how often they use a particular feature to estimate its adoption rate and make sure there\u2019s no friction in the customer journey.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>By analyzing feature usage data, PMs can identify the most and least liked features in the product.<\/p>\n<p>You can track <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/feature-adoption-101\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feature usage<\/a> with a product analytics tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a>. The tool enables you to tag specific UI patterns of your features that will be triggered after customers click on them (see screenshot below).<\/p>\n<p>When you analyze the data collected, you will learn which features are the most sticky.<\/p>\n<p>That will be the first step in a cohort analysis with segmentation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/feature-tagging-saas-product-analytics-marketing-automation_8567267eb0a95407925eb2f06d0b2c12.gif 1x, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/feature-tagging-saas-product-analytics-marketing-automation_8567267eb0a95407925eb2f06d0b2c12.gif 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/feature-tagging-saas-product-analytics-marketing-automation_8567267eb0a95407925eb2f06d0b2c12.gif 1x, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/feature-tagging-saas-product-analytics-marketing-automation_8567267eb0a95407925eb2f06d0b2c12.gif 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/feature-tagging-saas-product-analytics-marketing-automation_8567267eb0a95407925eb2f06d0b2c12.gif\" alt=\"feature-tagging-event-data.gif\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Feature tags for tracking feature usage in <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Want to track <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/feature-adoption-101\/\">feature adoption<\/a> and build in-product experiences to increase engagement?<a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Get a Userpilot demo<\/a> and get started!<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"f3k0u\"><strong>Detect common patterns and define cohorts in a specific time period<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After tracking feature usage, you need to group customers with common behavioral patterns in a given period of time.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, you can see what days or months users churn the most. In the example below, you can see that the fifth month became the most painful month due to drastic customer aversion. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the changes made in prior months proved to be a disaster.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, you should also pay attention to the \u201clight purple\u201d months and figure out what doubled down churn.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a-cohort-of-the-churned-users-in-the-previous-month_50b0dbd239a1bcb3d84f200832a054f8_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a-cohort-of-the-churned-users-in-the-previous-month_50b0dbd239a1bcb3d84f200832a054f8_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a-cohort-of-the-churned-users-in-the-previous-month_50b0dbd239a1bcb3d84f200832a054f8_800.png\" alt=\"A cohort of the churned users in the previous month\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>A cohort of the churned users in the previous month<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"d7go9\"><strong>Analyze behavioral cohorts and compare them with one another<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In this step, you need to dig deeper and compare cohorts to each other to analyze trends in their behavior. For this, we will be using the A\/B testing feature by <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/\">Userpilot<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s look at an example first. Imagine that you identified the cohort segment that signed up a month ago (January) and has not engaged with the core features. Now your primary goal is to help those users discover and use those features if they haven\u2019t churned yet.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ll build a segment to identify them and launch an <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/improve-feature-discovery-product-adoption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in-app feature discovery flow<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-experiment-how-to\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">run an A\/B-test<\/a> to see which type of in-app experience can drive better feature <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-adoption-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">adoption<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/run-ab-tests-with-userpilot-code-free_a982a10d835feebd849bd2f1ace709ad_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/run-ab-tests-with-userpilot-code-free_a982a10d835feebd849bd2f1ace709ad_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/run-ab-tests-with-userpilot-code-free_a982a10d835feebd849bd2f1ace709ad_800.png\" alt=\"Run A\/B tests with Userpilot code-free\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Run A\/B tests with <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a> code-free<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"27s80\"><strong>Group cohorts into segments that share common characteristics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A different approach to identifying problematic cohorts is to group them into segments that behave similarly. Divide a cohort into smaller, related groups based on different data points.<\/p>\n<p>Those can vary from <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/net-promoter-score-nps-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the NPS score<\/a> to web session duration to completed milestones, etc.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image strchf-type-image regular strchf-size-regular strchf-align-center\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/smart-user-segmentation-cohort-userpilot-1536x822_57b8f63bfc0c59e63e25705d775ec28a_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/smart-user-segmentation-cohort-userpilot-1536x822_57b8f63bfc0c59e63e25705d775ec28a_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/smart-user-segmentation-cohort-userpilot-1536x822_57b8f63bfc0c59e63e25705d775ec28a_800.png\" alt=\"Advanced segmentation in Userpilot\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>Advanced segmentation in <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Userpilot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Once it\u2019s done, you need to find a common characteristic of a successful segment and create a retention strategy for others based on the findings.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"5r35n\"><strong>Take action to improve customer experience and retain customers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Lastly, put together all the data gathered and identify issues that led to disengaged customers, drop-offs, or stalled users.<\/p>\n<p>Then you can go for different customer retention strategies to win users back at a high risk of churning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create personalized onboarding flows for different personas.<\/li>\n<li>Build interactive walkthroughs to engage new customers and get them to the value faster.<\/li>\n<li>Implement modals or <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/onboarding-tooltips-saas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tooltips<\/a> to facilitate feature discovery.<\/li>\n<li>Respond to in-app behavior: when a user starts a task, allocate them to that customer journey and offer support accordingly.<\/li>\n<li>Forge relationships with customers: run <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/microsurveys-saas-product\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in-app micro surveys<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/types-of-nps-surveys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPS surveys<\/a> to show users you care about their experience and want to build the best tool in the world based on customer needs.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/proactive-engagement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Proactive engagement<\/a>: Engaging proactively means identifying the issue and the user segment that encounters it, and actively contacting them on various channels to <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/cancellation-flow-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">prevent cancellations<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"ed69j\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Both cohort analysis and user segmentation are important to collect data about your customers and understand them better. Each method gives you a different understanding of user behavior and you can create strategies based on the findings.<\/p>\n<p>Want to segment your customers and build personalized product experiences for them code-free? <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Book a demo call<\/a> with our team and get started!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cohort analysis vs. segmentation \u2014 which method to apply when identifying product growth opportunities and retention strategies? Let&#8217;s learn about the key differences and how to combine them both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":12947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[770],"tags":[1782,460,1618,514],"class_list":["post-12946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ux-analytics","tag-behavioral-segmentation","tag-cohort-analysis-for-saas","tag-segmentation","tag-user-segmentation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cohort Analysis vs. Segmentation: What\u2019s the Difference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cohort analysis vs. segmentation: which method should you choose? 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