Five customer states from first visit to loyal advocate. Every YES/NO decision point and the automated flow that should fire on each path. Use this as the master reference; pull simplified views for client conversations.
Entry / state
Decision point
Advance (forward path)
Recover (nurture stall)
Lost (deeper recovery)
Klaviyo flow
01
Visitor
A stranger arrives on the site. Source: Instagram, paid ads, Google, or direct.
Visitor lands on site
From IG / ads / search / direct
Do they engage with the signup form or quiz?
YES — captured
Email captured
Profile created in Klaviyo with quiz data if quiz used
Welcome flow
5 emails over 14 days, branched by quiz answer
NO — anonymous
Browsed but didn't subscribe
Cookie tracked if they viewed PDPs
Browse abandonment flow
Fires only if they viewed 2+ PDPs and left without subscribing
The bottleneck here: a visitor who leaves without subscribing or browsing meaningfully is gone. Lead capture mechanisms (popup, quiz, exit-intent, footer form) are the only way to give them a reason to stay reachable. Most brands have weak capture and lose 95%+ of first-time visitors.
02
Subscriber
They've joined the email list. Now we're nurturing them toward their first purchase.
Subscriber active in welcome flow
Do they convert during the welcome series?
YES — converted
First purchase made
Welcome flow exits, post-purchase begins
Continues to Stage 03
NO — still browsing
Engaged subscriber, no purchase
Receives ongoing campaigns + new arrival emails
Engagement nurture
Brand stories, UGC, education, social proof — sent biweekly until purchase
Did they add to cart but not check out?
YES — cart abandoned
Cart abandoned
Klaviyo records cart contents
Abandoned cart flow
3 emails over 4 days: reminder → social proof → final urgency
NO — never reached cart
Browsing without intent
Goes back to engagement nurture above
The bottleneck here: if the welcome flow doesn't convert and the brand has no engagement nurture or abandoned cart sequence, subscribers go cold within 30 days. The list grows but doesn't earn. Welcome flow performance and abandoned cart recovery are the two highest-leverage flows in any DTC business.
03
First-time buyer
First order placed. The next 30–60 days determine whether they become a repeat buyer or a one-and-done.
3 emails: "We miss you" → product reminder → small incentive to return
Did the win-back convert them?
YES — recovered
Recovered repeat buyer
Re-enters Stage 04 segment
NO — still silent
Lapsed customer
120+ days since first order
Win-back flow B
Deeper discount, founder-voice email, last-attempt before suppression
The bottleneck here: the first-to-second purchase conversion is the single most important metric in DTC. Brands that nurture this transition properly see 30%+ repeat rates; brands that don't sit at 10–15%. Post-purchase nurture, review collection, and a timely win-back flow are the three levers.
04
Repeat buyer
They've bought twice or more. Now we're maximising lifetime value and moving them toward advocate status.
Repeat buyer
2+ orders placed
Repeat-buyer segment
Personalised campaigns based on past purchases — collection, size, color preferences
"What's new" + curated picks based on their purchase history
The bottleneck here: repeat buyers are often left alone because brands assume "they like us, they'll come back". They won't — not without proactive nurture. Milestone emails (one-off touches) and a persistent loyalty system (ongoing) are different things. Both should exist.
05
Loyal advocate
Top customers — top 10% by spend or frequency. They drive the most revenue and bring in new customers via word of mouth.
Loyal advocate
5+ orders OR top 10% lifetime spend
Have they been invited to refer or advocate?
YES — engaged advocate
Active referrer / UGC creator
Brings in new customers, posts on social, leaves reviews
VIP exclusive flow
Early access, private drops, founder direct line, points/rewards balance
NO — silent loyal
Top customer never asked
Loves the brand but no formal referral path exists
Referral activation flow
Personalised invite to refer + UGC request + program enrolment
Do they refer a friend who purchases?
YES — successful referral
Referrer rewarded
Both giver and receiver get incentive
Loop back to acquisition
Friend enters Stage 01 as a warm visitor — closes the cycle
NO — not yet referred
Continues as VIP
Stays in advocate segment, gentle reminders
The bottleneck here: most DTC brands stop building infrastructure once a customer hits "regular". The advocate stage is the largest untapped retention lever — referred customers convert higher and have higher LTV than any paid acquisition channel. A loyalty program + referral program here doesn't just retain; it acquires.
How to use this
One master diagram. Many simplified views.
This is the full architecture. Don't show the whole thing in a 20-minute discovery call — it'll overwhelm.
Instead, derive simplified views for specific moments:
Diagnostic view — show only the stages and decision points (no flows). Use this to find the bottleneck during discovery.
Phase 1 scope view — highlight only the 3–4 flows you'd build first based on what the client identified. Use this when proposing scope.
"Where you are now" view — colour-code each stage red/amber/green based on what they currently have running. Use this to show the gap.
Roadmap view — break flows into Phase 1 / Phase 2 / Phase 3 buckets. Use this to sell ongoing engagement, not a one-off project.
The master is your reference. The client gets the relevant slice.