Composed Chart
Bars for the count, a line for the rate. A composed chart combines two mark types on one time axis - typically bars for a count on the left axis and a line for a rate or ratio on the right.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customers lost | 21 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 41 |
| Churn rate | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
Churned-customer count rose 40% over the year while churn rate rose only 1.1 points - most of the increase in losses is base growth, not decay.
Report rate to leadership and count to the retention team; they need different denominators to make correct decisions.
What is a composed chart?
A composed chart combines two mark types on one time axis - typically bars for a count on the left axis and a line for a rate or ratio on the right.
Why is a composed chart useful?
Counts and rates tell contradictory stories on their own. Churned-customer *count* rises simply because the base grows; churn *rate* can fall at the same time. Showing both prevents each from being read as the whole picture.
How RetainCLM uses it
Bar the number of customers lost each month against a line for churn rate. When bars climb and the line is flat, the business is growing, not deteriorating.
The chart above is drawn from illustrative demo data chosen to make the visualization legible. It does not describe real RetainCLM customers. On a live account the same chart is drawn from your own customer, usage, billing and support data.
How to read it
Check which axis each series belongs to before reading a crossing point. Two series on two scales crossing means nothing at all - the crossing is an artefact of the scales you chose.
Limitations to keep in mind
Two y-axes can be tuned to imply almost any relationship. Use them only when the two measures genuinely have different units, and label both axes explicitly.
Related concepts
A composed chart is most useful alongside revenue retention, churn prediction, the full visualization library. RetainCLM builds these views on one unified customer record, so a pattern you notice in one visualization can be followed into the next without exporting anything.
Questions about the composed chart
What is a composed chart?
A single chart that combines more than one mark type - most often bars and a line - usually to show an absolute count alongside a related rate.
Is a second y-axis bad practice?
It is easy to misuse, not inherently wrong. It is justified when the two series have genuinely different units and both axes are clearly labelled; it is misleading when the scales are chosen to manufacture a visual correlation.
Related visualizations
See a composed chart built on your customers
Book a demo and we will build this chart, and the rest of the library, against your own retention and revenue data.
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