General Principles of Constructing Lifecycle Segments

Building effective lifecycle segments is key to understanding user behavior and driving targeted engagement in your app. A well-structured segmentation strategy helps guide users from initial interaction to long-term retention — and even reactivation if they churn. However, to achieve this, lifecycle segments must be thoughtfully designed.

In this article, we’ll explore three essential principles for constructing lifecycle segments that provide clear, actionable insights.

1. Segments Should Reflect Key Actions

Lifecycle segmentation should be based on user behavior and actions within the app. This means structuring segments according to significant user milestones. Examples include:

• First interaction (e.g., app installation or registration)
• First purchase or subscription
• Regular engagement (active users)
• Inactivity or drop-off
• Churn (uninstall, lack of interaction for a prolonged period)

Each segment should represent a meaningful step in the user's journey, allowing for targeted engagement strategies.

2. Dependence on Freemium or Trial Availability

For apps that offer freemium or trial periods, lifecycle segments should account for transitions between these models. Some considerations include:

• Users who start a free trial but don’t convert.
• Users who remain in freemium mode without upgrading.
• Paying users who downgrade to a free plan.

The presence of freemium and trial versions introduces unique lifecycle stages that must be properly mapped for effective engagement strategies.

3. Segments Should Not Overlap

To ensure precise and accurate user distribution, you should define lifecycle segments as mutually exclusive. Overlapping conditions can lead to inaccurate analytics and ineffective targeting. Some best practices include:

• Defining clear timeframes for transitions (e.g., a user is a "New Subscriber" only if they subscribed within the last 7 days).
• Using precise conditions for segmentation (e.g., distinguishing "Inactive Users" from "Churned Users" based on a threshold of inactivity).
• Avoiding redundancy where a single user fits into multiple lifecycle stages at once.

Useful tip:
You can easily verify that your segments do not overlap in Reteno. Simply create a dynamic segment with two lifecycle segments using the AND condition, then recalculate the contacts. If the segments are correctly defined, the result should be zero.