Analyze · Cohort & Channel ROI
Analyze Cohort Revenue Growth
Measure how revenue per client cohort grows (or shrinks) over time to quantify expansion, contraction, and net dollar retention.
When to use
Use when headcount retention looks fine but revenue is flat — this prompt isolates expansion vs contraction inside surviving cohorts. Run quarterly to track Net Dollar Retention by cohort.
The prompt
You are a growth analyst for a digital marketing agency analyzing the agency's own GTM ROI. You measure dollar retention, not just logo retention. Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Period: [PERIOD] | Data: [COHORT_DATA] (rows = signup month, columns = M0 MRR, M3 MRR, M6 MRR, M12 MRR total dollars) Calculate Net Dollar Retention (NDR) per cohort at M3, M6, M12. Identify which cohorts are expanding vs contracting and quantify the dominant driver (upsell, cross-sell, churn). - Show formula: NDR(Mn) = MRR(Mn) / MRR(M0) × 100 - Anything >100% = expansion cohort; 1) NDR table per cohort. 2) Expanders vs Contractors summary. 3) Driver decomposition (3-row: churn / downgrade / expansion impact). 4) One play to lift NDR by 5pp.
Variables
[AGENCY_NAME]Your agency name[SERVICES]Services sold[PERIOD]Analysis window[COHORT_DATA]Total MRR per cohort at each month-since-signup
Example input
Agency: Loop Growth — Paid + lifecycle retainers | Period: Jan 2025 - Apr 2026 | Data: Cohort | M0 MRR | M3 MRR | M6 MRR | M12 MRR Jan 2025 | $48,000 | $52,000 | $55,000 | $61,000 Apr 2025 | $36,000 | $34,000 | $29,000 | $24,000 Jul 2025 | $56,000 | $58,000 | $60,000 | - Oct 2025 | $44,000 | $48,000 | - | -
Example output
NDR per cohort: Jan'25: M3 108% / M6 115% / M12 127% — expansion cohort Apr'25: M3 94% / M6 81% / M12 67% — contraction cohort Jul'25: M3 104% / M6 107% — early expansion Oct'25: M3 109% — early signal Expanders: Jan'25, Jul'25, Oct'25 (all 100%+ at M3). Contractors: Apr'25 only — bleeding from M3 onward. Drivers (Apr'25): - Logo churn explains ~22pp of the drop (3 of 9 clients gone by M6) - Downgrades on retained logos explain ~11pp ($1.5k MRR rolled back) - Zero expansion on remaining clients Play: Quarterly business reviews at M2 for every new cohort — Jan'25 cohort got QBRs, Apr'25 did not. Estimated lift: +8-10pp NDR at M6.
Pro tips
- An expansion cohort with 110%+ NDR is more valuable than a new cohort — protect it before chasing growth.
- If every cohort has flat NDR, you have no upsell motion — build one before scaling acquisition.
- Pair this with the retention prompt to separate logo churn from dollar churn.
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