TEMPLATES

Stage owner brief

STAGE          [First use]
STARTS WHEN    [Carrier's delivered scan]
ENDS WHEN      [First-use signal: how-to click, check-in reply or review]
WINDOW         [30 days from first order]
TARGET         [Median within 7 days of delivery]
OWNER          [Name]
THE NUMBER     [Share of delivered customers with the signal by day 30]
GUARDRAIL      [Contacts per 100 orders at this stage]
TODAY          [61%] of the [March] cohort; median [6] days, p75 [18]
TOUCHES        [List every message and page in this stage, by day,
                with the system that sends it]
FAIL POINTS    [From the blueprint: each F, its system, who can fix it]
MEASURED /     [What we know from data / heard from customers /
HEARD /         still believe without checking]
INFERRED
LIVE FIX       [Name, start date, holdout share, decision date]
NEXT FIX       [Top of the ranked list]

Interview script (30 minutes)

BEFORE     Recruit from the stage, within two weeks of the moment:
           e.g. delivered 10 to 20 days ago, no first-use signal.
           Offer a thank-you that doesn't depend on what they say.
           Write down what you think the problem is.

OPEN       Thanks for making time. There are no wrong answers, and
           nothing you say will hurt our feelings. I'm trying to
           understand what happened, not to sell you anything.
           May I take notes?

BEFORE     Take me back to when you ordered. What was going on?
THE ORDER  What were you hoping it would do for you?

ARRIVAL    Walk me through the day it arrived. Where were you?
           What did you do with it first?
           Did anything from us arrive around then? What did you
           make of it?

FIRST USE  When did you first use it, if you have? What happened?
           If not yet: what's in the way?

SINCE      What would make you order it again? What would stop you?

CLOSE      Anything I should have asked? Thank you. Here's how
           you'll get the thank-you: [how].

AFTER      Within the hour: three quotes, the circumstance, the
           progress they wanted, what got in the way. Tag each
           point measured, heard or inferred.

Monthly map review (45 minutes)

ATTENDEES   Every stage owner. One chair. One note-taker.
PRE-READ    The scorecard (chapter 13), sent two days ahead.

10 MIN      Cohort table: newest closed cohort vs the three before.
            Has the stall moved? Customers lost there this month?
 5 MIN      Time in stage vs target. Any tail over 2x not yet split?
 5 MIN      Touches: every new or changed automated message, from
            any system. Collision days found. Longest silence.
15 MIN      Fixes in flight: each with its holdout read so far.
            Decision for each: stop, continue or roll out.
10 MIN      Next: top of the ranked list, owner, start date,
            holdout size, the result that would make us stop.

OUTPUT      Decisions and owners, sent the same day.

Email: first-week check-in

SUBJECT      How's It Going With Your [Product]?
PREVIEW      one tip for your first week, and a quick question

Hi [first name],

Your [product] arrived [on Tuesday]. Most people get the best
results when they [one specific tip]. Here's a 60-second guide:
[link to how-to]

Quick question: have you tried it yet? Just reply with
1 if yes, 2 if not yet, or 3 if something isn't right.
A person reads every reply, and a 3 comes straight to our team.

[Name], [Brand]

[Brand], [postal address]
You're receiving this because you ordered from us and agreed
to hear from us by email. Unsubscribe: [link]

Send it at your first-use target, counted from the delivered scan, and only to customers without a first-use signal yet. The click and the reply both become the signal. Pause it for anyone with an open ticket, a delay or a return in progress.

SMS: first-week check-in

[Brand]: Hi [first name], your [product] arrived [Tuesday].
Tried it yet? Reply 1 for yes, 2 for not yet, or 3 if
something's not right and we'll help. Quick start: [link]
Reply STOP to opt out

Send only to customers who gave SMS consent, within quiet hours for their time zone, and never on the same day as the email. Consent and quiet-hour rules differ by state; have counsel review your SMS program.