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Six stages on the main line and three detours. Each starts with an event you can count, has one number that says how it’s going, and has a book in this series that covers the fix.
The main line runs from the first visit to the third order. The detours are where customers step off it: a contact, a return, a lapse. A standard ecommerce dashboard reports the first two stages and a repeat rate, and very little in between.
| Stage | Starts when | The number | Where it leaks | Fix it with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Arrive | First recorded session | Visitors who place a first order within 30 days | The ad promises one thing and the landing page shows another | The Honest Test, The Proof File |
| 2. First order | First order placed | First-order contribution; share bought on discount | A discount that trains the wrong buyer; a surprise at checkout | The First Offer, The Price Rise, The Free Choice |
| 3. Delivered | Carrier’s delivered scan | Median days from order to delivery; share on time and intact | Silence between shipping and delivery; stockouts and split shipments | The Kept Promise, The Catalog |
| 4. First use | A first-use signal (chapter 3) | Share with a signal within 14 or 30 days of delivery | The product sits in the cupboard, unopened | Used, Not Bought |
| 5. Second order | Second order placed | Share within your replenishment window; median days | A reminder timed to the calendar, not to the product | The Second Order, The Standing Order |
| 6. Third order and on | Third order placed | Share of second-order customers who order a third time | Every customer gets the same flows forever | The Whole Machine, Close the Loop, The Next Category |
| Detour: contact | First ticket, chat or call | Contacts per 100 orders, by reason and stage | Nobody counts where-is-my-order contacts as part of the journey | The Kept Promise |
| Detour: return | Return requested | Return rate; repeat rate by how the return ended | A return treated as the end of the relationship | The Return Trip |
| Detour: lapse | No order past your 75th-percentile gap | Share lapsed at six and twelve months | Winback that starts too late or too cheap | The First Offer, The Second Order |
Two books sit across every row: The Noise Floor on telling a real change from noise, and Cash Before Growth on what each stage does to cash. Your stages may differ (a subscription brand’s second order is its first renewal), but the shape holds.
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Written by Andrew Lauchner, a growth and retention operator for consumer brands. The paid work is one ninety-day Sprint.
This is one chapter of The Journey Map, which is free and readable in full on a single page with no form in front of it.