Elena Verna · 7 min read · Growth
How I built a new composite qualitative metric - The Lovable Score
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There is a gap between growth dashboards and whether users actually love the product. The author advocates a composite qualitative metric—Lovable Score (Love + Use + Value)—to capture emotional connection, inspired by Notion's LUV, rather than relying on usage alone. The post argues for integrating qualitative insights with quantitative metrics to foster durable growth and warns against overreliance on traditional metrics like NPS and CSAT without context.
Key Takeaways
- Quantitative metrics (DAU, retention, revenue) don’t reveal if users “love” the product; emotional connection matters for durable growth.
- Lovable Score (Love + Use + Value) provides a composite, qualitative lens to measure user affection.
- Blend qualitative signals (CSAT, PMF, user interviews) with quantitative metrics to build trust and product love in growth strategies.
- Relying solely on traditional metrics like NPS or CSAT is insufficient; they should be complemented with broader qualitative insights.
Excerpt
Growth teams love metrics they can screenshot in a dashboard. Usage. Conversion. Retention. Revenue. A much less comfortable question: do users actually give a shit? Because a lot of “healthy” products are really just products people tolerate: their boss told them to use it, they have not found a better alternative yet, or switching feels too annoying. None of that means they love it. And the second a real alternative shows up, they’re gone. There goes your retention. If you want durable growth, the distinction between “I have to use it” and “I love using it” matters a lot. Hey,…