Subscriber Journey Segments [Early Access]

Overview

The Subscriber Journey Segments dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of your unique customers, categorizing them into actionable segments based on their value generation, commitment to your product, and vulnerability to churn. Combining these three factors, your entire subscriber base is assigned to meaningful segments with clear implications for your engagement strategies.

You can also use this dashboard to find other types of customer segments, for example, customers grouped by the age of their subscription, or the number of times they have churned and resubscribed.

You can find the Subscriber Journey Segments dashboard in the Cleeng Dashboard under ChurnIQ > Segments.

How it helps: Use this dashboard to quickly understand the composition of your customer base across key dimensions. Identify customer cohorts to target for business growth, or groups approaching renewal who may be vulnerable to churn.

Data scope: Unless explicitly stated (for example, in Churn statistics), this dashboard covers your Active Subscribers only.

Note: This feature (or setting) is only available if you are on the Enterprise Plan. To upgrade to this plan, please contact your account manager or reach out to our sales team for more details.

Note: This feature is currently in Early Access. This means it's ready for real-world use while we gather user feedback to enhance its functionality and address any minor issues.

 

How to use this dashboard

  • Global Filters: The dashboard shows Active Subscribers, except for charts that explicitly show churned subscribers.
  • Interactive Drill-down: Click on any segment color or pie chart slice to instantly jump to the Segment Builder. The tool will pass your selection filters automatically, allowing you to create the underlying user list and push it to your engagement platform directly. 
  • Hover for Details: Hover over the (i) icon next to any chart title to see specific formulas and exclusion rules.
Note: The View segment link (available from the three-dot menu next to each segment in Subscriber Journey Segments) is not supported in Safari and Firefox. Please use another browser to open the Segment Builder table.

 

Segmentation Matrix

Overview

The Segmentation Matrix visualizes your entire active subscriber base as segments based on their Value (revenue), Commitment (long-term attachment to your service), and their Vulnerability (near-term churn risk).

This view clusters customers into meaningful groups like ‘Champions’ or ‘Window Shoppers’, allowing you to target marketing actions based on multiple key dimensions rather than just their subscription status or renewal cycle.

Quick reference: the eight segments

The following table summarizes each segment by its three scores. Detailed definitions, customer profiles, and recommended actions are provided in the Customer segments section.

Segment Value Commitment Vulnerability In short
Champion High High Low Top spenders, deeply engaged, and secure. Your gold standard.
Vulnerable VIP High High High Top-tier spenders signaling they might leave.
Future Champion High Low Low New customers with strong spending potential, not yet committed.
Emerging Loyalist Medium Medium Low The healthy, consistent silent majority.
Committed Regular Low High Low Very loyal customers on low-tier plans.
Window Shopper Low Low High Casual explorers, likely to churn quickly.
Shaky Supporter Low High High Loyal but fragile, with low revenue and high churn risk.
Neutral Zone Medium Medium Medium The statistical center of your customer base.

How segments are assigned

Every subscriber is scored on three factors, each relying on multiple underlying customer facts. 

Dimension What it measures Key data points used

Vulnerability

Lower is Better. A lower score indicates less instability (a more secure subscriber).

 Reflects temporal or near-term heightening of churn risk

Subscription Age (Days): less mature subscriptions have more churn risk and are more vulnerable

Days to Next Renewal: churn vulnerability spikes near renewals

Cancellation Status: cancellations signal imminent churn

Commitment

Higher is Better. A high score indicates deep commitment to the brand.

 Captures long-term loyalty and attachment to your product

Time Since Activation: Relatively older customer accounts still subscribing show a stronger commitment to your product

Transaction Volume: Higher overall payment volume relative to the baseline signals a stronger commitment

Winback History: Higher resubscription rates signal stronger intent and commitment to continue using your product

Value

Higher is Better. A high score indicates a top-tier spender.

 Captures revenue contribution to your business

Customer Lifetime Revenue (CLTR): Reflects full-life revenue generation across all customers’ transactions, so not only subscriptions but also passes or PPV events.

Subscription Lifetime Revenue (SLTR): Captures the revenue generated from the currently active subscription (most recently started subscription where a customer has more than one.

Offer Period (e.g., Monthly vs. Yearly): Reflects the distinction revenue contribution from shorter and longer subscription types

Scoring methodology

A key feature of this segmentation model is that it does not use fixed arbitrary numbers (e.g., "Must spend $50 to be a Champion"). Instead, it uses Dynamic Percentile Scoring.

  1. Relative Ranking: The system compares every subscriber against your specific population.
  2. The 1-5 Scale: Users are ranked into quintiles (20% buckets) for every data point:
    • Top 20%: Score of 5 (Highest)
    • Middle 20%: Score of 3 (Average)
    • Bottom 20%: Score of 1 (Lowest)
  3. Dynamic Adaptation: Because the model is based on distribution rather than fixed numbers, the thresholds automatically adjust as your business grows or pricing changes.

Once the three scores are calculated, business rules determine the final segment. For example:

  • Champion: Requires High Value (Score ≥ 3.65), High Attachment (Score ≥ 3.65), and High Stability (Instability Score ≤ 3.0).
  • Vulnerable VIP: A high-spending user (Value ≥ 3.65) who is exhibiting signs of churn risk (Instability Score > 3.0).
  • Window Shopper: A user with low scores across all three categories (Value, Attachment, and Stability).

Visuals

  • Segments Matrix (Treemap): A visual map showing the relative size of each customer segment. Larger boxes indicate a higher volume of customers.
cleeng_subscriber-journey-segments_segments-matrix.png
  • Detailed Segments Table: A granular breakdown of each segment, including:
    • Customer Count: Total unique users in the segment.
    • AVG Customer LTR: Average Lifetime Revenue per user in this segment.
    • AVG Subscription Age: How long these users have been subscribed (in days).
    • AVG Subscription LTR: Revenue generated specifically from their current subscription.
cleeng_subscriber-journey-segments_segment-table.png

Key definitions:

  • Formula: COUNT(distinct Customer ID) GROUP BY subscriber_segment

 

Customer segments

Each segment combines the Value, Commitment, and Vulnerability scores into a distinct customer profile. The following sections describe who belongs in each segment and outline recommended actions, tactics, KPIs, and illustrative examples.

Tip: Score labels (Low / Medium / High) summarize the relative position of customers in this segment. The actual percentile thresholds are dynamic and adjust as your customer base evolves.

Champion

Value: High | Commitment: High | Vulnerability: Low

Your absolute best customers. They are highly profitable, deeply engaged, and secure. These are the gold standard of your customer base.

Use this segment when: You want to identify your most valuable advocates for VIP perks, referral campaigns, or brand-ambassador programs.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

VIP treatment

Provide exclusive previews, early access to new shows, and loyalty rewards that money can’t easily buy.
  • Grant early access to new releases 48 hours before general availability.
  • Create a dedicated “Champions Circle” with behind-the-scenes content and creator Q&As.
  • Offer annual loyalty gifts (for example, branded merchandise or premium feature unlocks).
  • Send personalized thank-you messages from content creators or leadership.
 KPIs: NPS (Net Promoter Score), Retention Rate (target: 98%+).

Advocacy programs

Trigger referral campaigns at peak engagement moments. Turn satisfaction into social proof.
  • Deploy referral prompts immediately after a subscriber finishes binge-watching a popular series.
  • Offer double-sided rewards: the referrer and the referred both get value.
  • Track referral-to-conversion rates per Champion to identify your best advocates.
  • Create shareable “year in review” or watch-stats cards they’ll want to post.

KPIs: Referral Conversion Rate, Viral Coefficient.

 

Brand ambassador

Invite top Champions to beta features, surveys, and insider communities to deepen belonging.
  • Create a private beta group where Champions test new features before public launch.
  • Run quarterly surveys and actually implement their top-voted suggestions (and tell them).
  • Feature their testimonials and reviews prominently, with permission.
  • Invite top ambassadors to virtual or in-person events with content creators.

KPIs: Feature Adoption Rate, Community Engagement Score.

 

 

Vulnerable VIP

Value: High | Commitment: High | Vulnerability: High

The most critical segment. These are top-tier spenders who are signaling they might leave (for example, they canceled auto-renew or had a failed payment).

Use this segment when: You want to deploy save campaigns or proactive renewal messaging to your highest-value at-risk customers.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

Proactive renewal

Send targeted messaging emphasizing value before the subscription window closes.
  • Trigger personalized “value recap” emails 14, 7, and 3 days before renewal.
  • Highlight hours watched, shows completed, and money saved versus à-la-carte.
  • A/B test urgency messaging versus value messaging to find what resonates.
  • Use push notifications for subscribers who don’t open emails.

KPIs: Renewal Rate, Email Open Rate at Renewal Window.

 

Retention offers

Deploy personalized discounts or bundle upgrades — the minimum discount needed to secure retention.
  • Use price-sensitivity modeling to find the minimum effective discount per subscriber.
  • Offer plan upgrades at the current price rather than discounts on the current plan.
  • Bundle add-ons (for example, ad-free or downloads) as “free for 3 months” retention sweeteners.
  • Time offers to arrive at the exact moment of cancellation intent, not after.

KPIs: Save Rate, Discount-to-Retention ROI (Return on Investment).

 

Exit prevention

Trigger “We’ll miss you” campaigns at the first signal of cancellation intent.
  • Monitor behavioral signals: skipped payments, reduced logins, cancelled auto-renew.
  • Deploy a multi-step cancel flow that surfaces unused benefits before confirming.
  • Offer a “pause” option (1–3 months) instead of outright cancellation.
  • Follow up churned VIPs with a 30-day “door is open” campaign and a compelling offer.

KPIs: Cancel Flow Save Rate, Pause-to-Reactivation Rate.

 

 

Future Champion

Value: High | Commitment: Low | Vulnerability: Low

New customers with strong spending potential but haven’t been around long enough to build deep commitment.

Use this segment when: You want to invest in onboarding and habit formation for high-potential newcomers.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

Deep onboarding

Build journeys that highlight specific platform value and hidden features new subscribers haven’t discovered yet.
  • Create a 7-day onboarding drip campaign tailored to their initial content choices.
  • Surface “hidden gems” — features like profiles, downloads, and watchlists most new users miss.
  • Use in-app tooltips and guided tours on first login across each device type.
  • Track onboarding completion rate and correlate it with 90-day retention.

KPIs: Onboarding Completion Rate, Day-30 Retention.

 

Smart upsell

Push into premium tiers or family plans based on actual usage patterns — not generic prompts.
  • Trigger premium tier offers when a subscriber hits usage ceilings (for example, concurrent streams).
  • Recommend family plans when multiple profiles are active on a single account.
  • Show cost-per-hour-of-entertainment comparisons to justify premium pricing.
  • Time upsell prompts after positive experiences (a finished series, a high-engagement week).

KPIs: Upsell Conversion Rate, ARPU Lift.

 

Habit formation

Encourage cross-device usage (mobile to TV) to increase session frequency and depth.
  • Send “continue watching on TV” prompts when mobile sessions end mid-episode.
  • Gamify engagement: weekly viewing streaks, discovery badges, genre explorer milestones.
  • Push personalized “new episode” alerts for shows they’re actively following.
  • Create “appointment viewing” habits with weekly release schedules and reminders.

KPIs: Sessions Per Week, Cross-Device Usage Rate.

 

 

Emerging Loyalist

Value: Medium | Commitment: Medium | Vulnerability: Low

The “silent majority” of your customer base. They are healthy and consistent but haven’t maxed out their spending or usage yet.

Use this segment when: You want to nudge a large, stable cohort toward higher spend or deeper engagement without risking friction.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

Content nurture

Run campaigns that feature personalized content recommendations based on viewing history and category affinity.
  • Use collaborative filtering to surface “subscribers like you also loved…” recommendations.
  • Create themed content collections (for example, “Weekend Binge” or “Hidden Gems”) refreshed weekly.
  • A/B test recommendation algorithms: popularity-based versus taste-based versus hybrid.
  • Track recommendation click-through to continuously improve personalization quality.

KPIs: Recommendation CTR (Click-Through Rate), Content Discovery Rate.

 

Gradual upsell

Promote small add-ons or slightly higher tiers — avoid aggressive pressure that causes friction.
  • Offer free trials of premium features (ad-free, 4K, downloads) for 7 days.
  • Use “soft gate” moments: “This content is available in Premium — try it free.”
  • Run monthly-to-annual conversion campaigns timed around the 3rd or 4th monthly renewal.
  • Never show more than one upsell per session to avoid fatigue and frustration.

KPIs: Monthly-to-Annual Conversion, Add-on Attach Rate.

 

Engagement deepening

Surface features like watchlists, downloads, or profiles to build daily-use habits.
  • Prompt watchlist creation after browsing 5+ titles without selecting one.
  • Suggest downloads before commute hours (morning push: “Download for your commute”).
  • Encourage additional profile creation for household members to increase stickiness.
  • Send a weekly “Your Viewing Recap” to make usage feel personal and habitual.

KPIs: Feature Adoption Rate, DAU/MAU Ratio (Daily Active Users / Monthly Active Users).

 

 

Committed Regular

Value: Low | Commitment: High | Vulnerability: Low

Very loyal customers who stick to low-tier plans. They are stable and love your brand but contribute less revenue.

Use this segment when: You want to recognize loyalty and reinforce belonging without expensive incentives.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

Recognize loyalty

Celebrate milestones and anniversaries (for example, “Year One Review”) to reinforce belonging.
  • Auto-trigger milestone emails at 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year anniversaries.
  • Include personalized stats: hours watched, genres explored, shows completed.
  • Pair milestone recognition with a small unexpected reward (a free month, a premium trial).
  • Make milestones shareable — design social-ready “My Year in Review” cards.
 KPIs: Milestone Email Open Rate, Post-Milestone Retention.

Low-cost perks

Offer digital badges, thank-you notes, or avatar customization — high symbolic value, low monetary cost.
  • Create a “Loyalty Tier” badge system visible on their profile (Bronze, Silver, Gold).
  • Offer exclusive avatar frames or profile customizations for long-tenured subscribers.
  • Send personalized video thank-you messages from content creators at key milestones.
  • Give early access to trailers or announcements — costs nothing, feels exclusive.

KPIs: Perk Engagement Rate, Sentiment Score.

 

Soft advocacy

Use low-friction review requests and NPS surveys at anniversary moments.
  • Ask for reviews immediately after they finish a show they rated highly.
  • Keep NPS surveys to 1 question plus an optional comment — never longer.
  • Respond to promoters with a referral link; respond to detractors with a personal follow-up.
  • Use app store review prompts strategically (after positive in-app moments only).

KPIs: NPS Response Rate, App Store Rating.

 

 

Window Shopper

Value: Low | Commitment: Low | Vulnerability: High

Casual explorers. They spend little, visit rarely, and are likely to churn quickly.

Use this segment when: You want to spend carefully. Invest only in low-cost reactivation, not deep discounting.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

Discovery campaigns

Send “Top picks for you” emails based on actual browsing and viewing history — not generic recommendations.
  • Analyze what little viewing data exists to find one strong content match.
  • Create “Just 20 Minutes” short-form content recommendations to lower the commitment barrier.
  • Use trending or popular content as social proof: “1M subscribers watched this week.”
  • Send no more than 1 email per week — over-communication accelerates churn here.

KPIs: Email-to-Session Conversion, Content Start Rate.

 

Incentives

Offer trial extensions or first-month discounts to lower the commitment barrier at the right moment.
  • Offer a free weekend or extended trial when engagement drops below 1 session per week.
  • Test “pay what you want” first month to reduce price as a churn driver.
  • Bundle a lower-tier plan suggestion: “Not using Premium features? Save with Basic.”
  • Set a maximum spend cap per Window Shopper — don’t over-invest in low-LTV users.

KPIs: Trial-to-Paid Conversion, Cost Per Save.

 

Urgency nudges

Send push notifications and email reminders tied to content they started but didn’t finish.
  • Trigger “Continue watching” push notifications 24 hours after an abandoned session.
  • Highlight content that’s leaving the platform soon: “Last chance to watch.”
  • Use countdown timers for limited-time free content or promotions.
  • Avoid generic nudges — always reference specific content they engaged with.

KPIs: Return Visit Rate, Session Resume Rate.

 

 

Shaky Supporter

Value: Low | Commitment: High | Vulnerability: High

Loyal but fragile customers with low revenue who are vulnerable to churn. They show commitment but need stabilization.

Use this segment when: You want to protect long-tenured but low-revenue customers who are showing churn signals.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs 

Deepen usage

Run campaigns that highlight features they aren’t using — downloads, watchlist, offline mode.
  • Identify the top 3 unused features per subscriber and surface them in-app.
  • Create short tutorial videos or tooltips that demo features contextually.
  • Track feature-adoption correlation with retention to prioritize which features to push.
  • Use “Did you know?” in-app banners triggered by usage patterns.

KPIs: Feature Discovery Rate, Session Depth.

 

Stabilization perks

Send small, unexpected rewards to reaffirm value without training discount dependency.
  • Surprise with a free premium feature for a month (no ask, just grant it).
  • Send “We appreciate you” messages at random intervals — not tied to renewals.
  • Avoid patterns: if rewards become predictable, they lose their emotional impact.
  • Track whether perks correlate with reduced churn signals in the following 30 days.

KPIs: Post-Perk Churn Reduction, Engagement Lift.

 

Re-engagement win

Build content-led campaigns tied to upcoming releases they’re statistically likely to enjoy.
  • Use predictive models to match upcoming releases to subscriber taste profiles.
  • Send “Coming next week” teasers for content aligned with their top genres.
  • Create personalized “What to watch next” landing pages for returning users.
  • Time campaigns 3–5 days before a major release to build anticipation.

KPIs: Pre-Release Engagement Rate, Return Visit Rate.

 

 

Neutral Zone

Value: Medium | Commitment: Medium | Vulnerability: Medium

The statistical center of your customer base. They represent the average in each category and form a baseline for comparison.

Use this segment when: You want to use a broad, lightweight engagement approach and learn what works before refining segmentation further.

Recommended actions

Action Tactics KPIs

General engagement

Run broad campaigns focusing on new content highlights and trending shows they haven’t seen.
  • Curate weekly “Staff Picks” or “Trending Now” emails with fresh, rotated content.
  • Use popularity-based recommendations since personalization data is limited.
  • Test different email formats: visual-heavy versus text-based versus single-hero.
  • Monitor which content categories drive the most engagement to refine over time.

KPIs: Email Engagement Rate, Content Start Rate.

 

Lightweight nudges

Send gentle reminders to log in or finish a series — low friction, high frequency.
  • Send “It’s been a while” messages after 7 days of inactivity — warm, not desperate.
  • Reference their last watched content specifically: “Season 2 just dropped.”
  • Use multiple channels: email, push, and in-app to find what works per user.
  • Cap nudge frequency: maximum 2 per week to avoid unsubscribes.

KPIs: Reactivation Rate, Nudge-to-Session Conversion.

.

Category discovery

Surface content from categories they haven’t explored to reignite curiosity.
  • Identify genre blind spots: if they only watch drama, surface a top-rated documentary.
  • Use “Subscribers who love [their genre] also enjoy…” cross-genre bridges.
  • Create curated “Genre Starter Packs” — 3 short-form titles to sample a new category.
  • Track category expansion as a leading indicator of long-term retention.

KPIs: Genre Diversity Index, New Category Start Rate.

 

 

Revenue segments

This section breaks down subscribers based on their monetary contribution.

cleeng_subscriber-journey-segments_revenue-segments.png
Dimension What it measures Key data points used
Customer Lifetime Revenue (CLTR) Customers grouped by total lifetime spend from all purchases, not only subscriptions, but also passes and PPV. Excludes users with 0 revenue.
Subscription Lifetime Revenue Customers grouped by revenue generated from their current subscription lifetime. Excludes subscriptions with 0 revenue.
No. of Transactions Customers are grouped by the total volume of transactions they have made. N/A

 

Commitment segments

This section analyzes customer loyalty and tenure.

cleeng_subscriber-journey-segments_commitment-segments.png
Dimension What it measures Key data points used
Churns in Lifetime How many times a user churned in the past. Useful for identifying "Win-back" customers. Excludes active customers who have never churned.
Days Since Activation How long ago the customer first activated their account. N/A
Subscription Age Days The duration of the current active subscription. N/A

 

Renewal segments

This section focuses on retention, upcoming renewals, and recent losses.

cleeng_subscriber-journey-segments_renewal-segments.png
Dimension What it measures Key data points used
Canceled Customers by Offer Customers who currently have a subscription in a 'canceled' state (i.e., churn pending) grouped by Offer. Filter: Cancellation Date is NOT NULL
Days to Next Renewal Customers grouped by how many days remain until they renew their current subscription. Active Subscriptions only
Days Since Churn A breakdown of Inactive customers by how recently they have churned. Filter: Subscription Status = Churned

 

Attribute Segments

A breakdown of your base by demographics, technology, and plan types.

cleeng_subscriber-journey-segments_attribute-segments.png
  • Customer Country: Top 50 countries by customer volume.
  • Churn by Customer LTR: Analyzing which revenue tiers are churning the most (e.g., are we losing high-value or low-value users?).
  • Offer Period Breakdown: When customers accepted their offer (Monthly vs. Yearly).
  • Latest Payment Method: Breakdown by method (Credit Card, PayPal, etc.).
  • Latest Transaction Channel: Breakdown by platform (Web, iOS, Android, Roku, etc.).
  • Subscription Plan: Breakdown by specific offer titles (Top 50).

Data Logic & Refresh Rates

  • Data Source: Segment Builder table
  • Update Frequency: The "Data Freshness" tile at the bottom of the dashboard displays the timestamp of the last successful data load. It’s every 6 hours
  • Currency: All revenue fields are displayed in the publisher's default currency.
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