State cards: from state to action.

Classification without action is expensive reporting. This chapter gives each of the eight states a playbook card, so the response to any state is named, owned, timed, and measurable, never "run a campaign".

The fixed card structure

Every state card follows the same skeleton, so teams read them the same way:

• State summary, diagnosis logic, and entry rules.
• Immediate confidence checks before any action is taken.
• An action playbook of named steps, each with a trigger, an owner, a timing, a channel, and a success measure.
• Channel and contact rules, including suppression and human handoff.
• Ownership and handoffs (accountable, responsible, consulted, informed).
• Success measures at 30, 60, and 90 days across Do, Feel, Connect, and commercial outcome.
• Escalation rules, audit fields, and a learning loop.

A card is complete only when no action reads as generic.

Worked example: the L4 Strained Loyalist card

• Before acting: confirm the issue type, severity, and timeline; verify Connect through observed proxies, not tenure; check whether an open recovery case already exists.
• Playbook: triage within 24 hours (faster for high value), human contact within 24 to 48 hours, acknowledge the specific issue, resolve it clearly, offer a proportionate make-good, then fix the underlying process.
• Never: send a generic voucher as the only response, or use automation-only recovery for high-value cases. This is where Trust Equity gets spent or rebuilt.
• Proof: positive resolution satisfaction at 30 days, a return visit at 60, movement to L1 or L2 with no repeat issue at 90.

Starter moves per state

The full cards are yours to write on worksheet 5. These are the opening moves and the standing prohibitions:

• L1: triage the advocate list weekly; reinforce through recognition, early access, and tailored benefits. Never blanket discounts.
• L2: diagnose the Connect gap within seven days; run a recognition and preference-capture journey. Never repeated incentives where offer dependency is already high.
• L3: isolate the root friction and the value at risk within seven days; fix the source before any message goes out. Never generic win-back offers before the problem is handled.
• L4: triage within 24 hours, faster for high value; human contact within 24 to 48 hours. Never a voucher as the only response.
• L5: name the primary barrier within seven days; match the message and offer to that barrier. Never blanket discounts across the whole pool.
• L6: identify the likely re-entry trigger within 14 days; send a personalised prompt timed to the need window. Never a generic churn-discount sequence.
• L7: run a timeline analysis of behaviour, sentiment, and service events within seven days; make outreach that names the prior relationship. Never acquisition-style offers.
• L8: review in a monthly batch; keep light-touch nurture only where fit is plausible. Never high-touch recovery without a strategic-segment flag.

The suppression discipline

Cards say what not to send as firmly as what to send: no promotional traffic to customers in active recovery, no discount blasts at L3 until the friction is fixed, no acquisition-style offers to L7. Suppression is where most programmes leak trust.

What good looks like

Eight cards live, owners executing on time, generic campaigns suppressed for repair and recovery states, and every card's learning loop feeding monthly improvements.

Chapter checklist

• Draft all eight cards using the fixed structure.
• Pressure-test each card: does any action read as generic?
• Agree the suppression rules with whoever owns the campaign calendar.