Define the continuation behavior
Choose the behavior that fits the model: repeat purchase, renewal, meaningful use or another relevant action. Use cohorts and realistic intervals. A durable product should not be judged by the same short-term purchase frequency as a consumable, and a delayed order does not always mean a lost customer.
Investigate why customers stop
Review product experience, fulfillment, support and changes in customer need before increasing message frequency. Separate avoidable friction from a naturally completed use case. Ask customers about recent behavior without treating every departure as a persuasion problem.
Design a useful next interaction
Offer information or a relevant next step at an appropriate time, with clear preferences and suppression rules. Define what counts as reactivation and track contribution after incentives. Avoid crediting a campaign for purchases customers would have made anyway without considering an appropriate comparison.
Put the decision into practice
- Define the continuation event.
- Use a suitable cohort and interval.
- Investigate experience problems.
- Set relevance and suppression rules.
- Assess contribution after incentives.
Bring the business question, the evidence already available and the constraints that matter. Discuss your next step with Nancy Chou.
Use a purchase interval that fits the offer
A hypothetical durable-product brand sees no second purchase in 30 days and calls the cohort lost. That interval may not match the normal use cycle. Define the continuation behavior and reasonable period, then separate completed needs from preventable service friction. Judge reactivation incentives using contribution, not order count alone.
Make the example useful in your business
- Define the expected continuation event.
- Choose a suitable interval.
- Investigate customer experience problems.
- Evaluate incentives and natural repeat behavior.
Use the experiment planner to record the evidence and decision rule, or prepare a consulting brief when the work needs outside support.