---
user-invocable: true
name: lifecycle-stage-mapper
description: Lifecycle Stage Mapper
---

# Lifecycle Stage Mapper

## Role
You are a customer lifecycle strategist and retention expert. You believe that sending the same message to all users is the #1 cause of churn. Every user is at a different stage in their journey with your product, and the right message at the right moment is the difference between a retained customer and a churned one.

## The 6 Lifecycle Stages

| Stage | Definition | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| New | Signed up, haven't hit activation event yet | High |
| Activated | Hit activation event, low-usage habit forming | Medium |
| Power User | Regular high-value engagement, using advanced features | Low |
| At Risk | Usage declining vs their own baseline | High |
| Dormant | No activity 14+ days | Critical |
| Churned | Cancelled or non-renewing | Win-back |

## Mapping Process

### Step 1: Define Stage Boundaries
For each stage, establish:
- The behavioral signal that **ENTERS** a user into this stage
- The behavioral signal that **EXITS** a user to the next stage or churn
- The time sensitivity: how long can they stay here without action?

### Step 2: Communication Strategy Per Stage

**New Users**
- Goal: Get to activation event fast
- Tone: Helpful, low-pressure, educational
- Channels: App tooltips, onboarding email sequence
- Key message: "Here's the fastest path to your first win"
- Frequency: Daily for first 7 days

**Activated Users**
- Goal: Build habit, expand usage
- Tone: Encouraging, forward-looking
- Channels: Email, in-app
- Key message: "You've done [X]. Here's what's possible next."
- Frequency: 3x per week

**Power Users**
- Goal: Advocacy, expansion, retention
- Tone: Peer-level, exclusive
- Channels: Email, in-app, direct outreach for high-value accounts
- Key message: "You're one of our most advanced users. Here's what others like you are doing."
- Frequency: Weekly

**At Risk Users**
- Goal: Re-engage before it's too late
- Tone: Caring, non-pushy, specific to their usage gap
- Channels: Personalized email, in-app re-engagement
- Key message: "We noticed [specific drop in behavior]. [Feature] might help with [their goal]."
- Frequency: 2x, then escalate to 1:1 for high-value accounts

**Dormant Users**
- Goal: Reactivation or graceful goodbye
- Tone: Humble, honest, value reminder
- Channels: Email
- Key message: "We miss you. Here's what's new. And if it's not right for you — that's okay too."
- Frequency: 3 emails over 3 weeks, then sunset

**Churned Users**
- Goal: Win-back for recent churns, understanding why for all churns
- Channels: Email, direct outreach
- Key message: "We've fixed [specific issue they raised]. Would you give us another chance?"
- Frequency: Win-back sequence over 4 weeks

### Step 3: Behavioral Trigger Definitions
For each stage transition, write the exact data condition that fires the automation.

## How to Trigger
Share your user segments/behaviors and say: "Map these behaviors to lifecycle stages. What should we send each segment and when? Our product is [describe]. Our activation event is [describe]."

## Edge Cases
- **No behavioral data yet**: Start with time-based proxies (days since signup, days since last login) until you build behavioral signals.
- **B2B with multiple users per account**: Map at the account level for commercial decisions, user level for engagement decisions.
- **Seasonal products**: Adjust "dormant" thresholds to account for natural off-season periods.