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The Horde Flow System is a business framework for analysts and operations teams. It helps you find where a company is making or losing money. You use it to ask better questions, find useful insights, and take action that creates value.
This guide explains the six stages of the system, how to use them, and includes a worksheet you can download by joining the email newsletter.
What Is the Horde Flow System?
What Is the Horde Flow System?
The Horde Flow System breaks a business into six stages. Each stage is a point where the business either gains or loses value. Analysts use this structure to guide their work. Instead of reporting basic metrics, they ask questions that improve revenue or reduce cost.
The goal is simple: help teams focus on the parts of the business that matter most.
Watch the Video First
Watch the Video First
This post matches a short video walkthrough created as a vertical-format Zoom-style training. It’s fast, clear, and built for mobile viewing.
The Six Stages of the Horde Flow
The Six Stages of the Horde Flow
Each stage covers a key part of how a business interacts with customers. These stages are not tied to job titles or software tools. They describe how value flows through a company.
Stage 1 - Marketing
Stage 1 - Marketing
Are we attracting the right people into the business?
If we get this wrong, we create churn before we even start. Analysts here dig into channel performance, lead quality, and alignment between marketing promises and customer reality.
Look for:
High LTV customers by channel
Low-quality leads that churn quickly
Misaligned expectations that drive dissatisfaction
Stage 2 - Customer Journey
Stage 2 - Customer Journey
Are customers making it through the early experience successfully?
This is the “first mile.” If customers struggle here, they may never realize your product’s value.
Look for:
Where customers get stuck in onboarding
Time-to-value friction
Signs of early engagement vs. silent churn
Stage 3 - Sales
Stage 3 - Sales
Are we closing the right people, profitably and sustainably?
A good sale creates lifetime value. A bad one creates cost. Analysts here focus on deal quality, conversion efficiency, and promise alignment.
Look for:
High-churn deals or unprofitable discounts
Sales-pressure churn
Gaps between what was sold and what’s delivered
Stage 4 - Customer Evaluation
Stage 4 - Customer Evaluation
Are customers satisfied, engaged, and staying?
This is where your product either proves itself or gets dropped. It’s not just about usage, it’s about perceived, visible value.
Look for:
Renewal drivers and churn predictors
Usage patterns tied to retention
Feedback loops that never close
Stage 5 - Resources
Stage 5 - Resources
Are we spending time and effort where it actually matters?
Support, success, outreach, and account management all cost time. Analysts help ensure that time goes to the right customers and moments.
Look for:
High-effort customers with low return
Repeatable work that could be automated
Where human touch really makes a difference
Stage 6 - Ops Efficiency
Stage 6 - Ops Efficiency
Are our systems and processes delivering value, or silently breaking things?
Behind the scenes, chaos kills customer trust. This stage is about reliability, scalability, and the cost of invisible failure.
Look for:
Silent breakdowns in billing, delivery, or fulfillment
Tools that don’t talk to each other
Internal delays that impact customer experience
Download the Worksheet
Download the Worksheet
To help apply this system, we created a simple worksheet. It helps you write down key questions for each stage, then list ideas to increase revenue or cut costs.
The worksheet includes:
A breakdown of each stage
5 revenue-focused analysis questions per stage
5 cost-saving analysis questions per stage
A blank space for your own questions and findings
How to Use the Horde Flow System
How to Use the Horde Flow System
1. Start Every Project With It
Ask: which part of the business flow is stuck?Use the answer to guide your analysis and stakeholder conversations.
2. Review Team Backlogs With It
Use it to sort your tasks by impact:
- Will this improve acquisition?
- Will it reduce churn?
- Will it save time or money?
3. Run a Quarterly Flow Audit
Go through each stage and ask:
- Are we winning or losing here?
- What’s the cost of failure?
- What can we improve next?
Final Bites
Final Bites
The Horde Flow System is a tool to help analysts focus. It shows where to dig and what questions to ask. It keeps your work tied to business outcomes.
If you’re tired of building reports no one uses, try using this system as a filter. It will help you spot problems, find value, and focus your effort where it counts.
FAQ's
FAQ's
How is this different from a sales or marketing funnel?
Funnels show how leads move through a pipeline. The Horde Flow shows how value flows, or leaks, across the whole customer lifecycle. It includes marketing, sales, onboarding, customer experience, operations, and more.
How does the worksheet help?
The worksheet helps you write down key questions and organize them by stage. It includes sample prompts for finding revenue and cost opportunities and space to record insights.
Can I use this in dashboard or reporting projects?
Yes. It helps you decide which metrics matter, what questions the data should answer, and how to organize insights by business stage.
Can I use this if I’m not in a traditional data role?
Yes. If you work with customer data, support insights, or help your team solve problems with data, this system gives you a clear way to focus and prioritize.
Is this just a brainstorming tool?
No. It’s a thinking model and an analysis framework. You can use it to kick off projects, guide stakeholder meetings, or audit performance across the customer lifecycle.
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