Purpose
Turn raw host or listing attributes into a set of clearly defined supply segments — each with its own acquisition channel, onboarding flow, and retention lever — so supply and growth teams stop treating all hosts the same and start allocating effort where it compounds. Solves the problem of undifferentiated supply strategy that over-invests in low-value segments and under-serves high-LTV ones.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Segment their host, supplier, or listing base for growth planning
- Decide which types of hosts to prioritize acquiring next quarter
- Build differentiated onboarding flows for different host types
- Diagnose why certain hosts churn while others stay active
- Allocate supply-acquisition budget across channels and segments
- Create a supply-side playbook for a new market or category
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Platform type: What the marketplace connects (short-term rentals, freelance services, physical goods resale, equipment rental, etc.)
- Host/supplier attributes available: Fields you can segment on — listing count, tenure, revenue, response rate, category, geography, professionalization level
- Current supply size: Approximate number of active hosts and total listings
- Primary growth goal: More listings, higher-quality listings, better geographic coverage, or improved retention
- Known problem segments: Any host types that are churning, underperforming, or hard to acquire
- Acquisition channels in use: How hosts currently find and join the platform
- Retention signals tracked: What you measure — repeat activity, revenue trend, response time, review score
If host-level data is thin, build segments from the platform type and category norms, and flag which segments need data validation before acting.
Instructions
Step 1: Establish the Segmentation Axes
Identify the 2-3 dimensions that most separate host value and behavior on this platform. Choose from:
- Professionalization: Casual/hobbyist → side-income → semi-pro → full professional/multi-listing operator
- Supply volume: Single-listing vs. multi-listing/portfolio hosts
- Tenure & lifecycle: New (0-90 days), establishing (3-12 months), mature (12+ months), reactivation candidates (dormant)
- Motivation: Income-primary, income-supplemental, community/mission-driven, convenience/offloading
Pick the two axes that create the sharpest value and behavior differences, and state why. These form the backbone of the segmentation.
Step 2: Define 5-7 Host Segments
For each segment, produce:
- Segment name: A concrete, memorable label (e.g., "Portfolio Operators," "Weekend Hosts," "One-and-Done Sellers")
- Defining attributes: The specific data thresholds that place a host here (listing count, tenure, revenue band, activity level)
- Estimated share of supply: Rough % of the host base — flag as estimate if data is thin
- Value to the platform: LTV tier (High / Medium / Low) with reasoning tied to revenue, listing quality, or coverage contribution
- Core motivation: What this host actually wants from the platform
- Primary risk: The single biggest reason this segment underperforms or churns
Segments must be mutually exclusive on the defining attributes — a host should map to exactly one.
Step 3: Acquisition Approach Per Segment
For each segment, specify:
- Best-fit channel(s): Where this host type is realistically found and won (referral, paid social, partnerships, direct sales/BD, SEO, community)
- Acquisition message: The one value proposition that resonates for this motivation type
- Acquisition cost expectation: Low / Medium / High CAC relative to the segment's LTV — and whether the ratio justifies investment
- Priority level: Acquire aggressively / Acquire opportunistically / Deprioritize — with a one-line rationale
Step 4: Onboarding Approach Per Segment
For each segment, specify:
- Onboarding depth: Self-serve, guided, or high-touch/white-glove — matched to segment value and complexity
- First key milestone: The single activation event that predicts this segment sticking (first listing live, first booking, first payout, first repeat)
- Friction to remove: The specific onboarding step most likely to lose this segment
- Time-to-value target: How fast this segment must reach first value before drop-off risk spikes
Step 5: Retention Approach Per Segment
For each segment, specify:
- Retention lever: The primary mechanism that keeps this host active (earnings growth, tooling, recognition, demand reliability, community)
- Churn early-warning signal: The behavior that predicts this segment is about to leave
- Intervention: The specific play to run when the warning signal fires
- Expansion path: How to grow this host's contribution (more listings, higher quality, upgrade to next segment tier)
Step 6: Prioritization Summary
Rank all segments by strategic priority given the stated growth goal. Deliver:
- A priority ranking of segments (1 to N) with the reasoning for each rank
- The single segment to over-invest in this quarter, and why
- The single segment to deprioritize or manage passively, and why
Output Format
- Structure: Segmentation axes rationale → per-segment profiles (each covering value, acquisition, onboarding, retention) → prioritization summary
- Length: 1,100–1,500 words
- Format: Structured document — each segment as its own labeled block with sub-headings; prioritization summary as a ranked list or compact table
- Sections: Segmentation Axes → Segment Profiles (5-7) → Acquisition Playbook → Onboarding Playbook → Retention Playbook → Prioritization Summary
- Tone: Supply strategy lead — decisive, data-grounded, willing to name which segments not to chase
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Between 5 and 7 segments are defined, and each has distinct defining attributes (no overlap)
- [ ] Every segment has all four playbook elements: acquisition, onboarding, retention, and value tier
- [ ] Acquisition channels are specific to each segment's motivation — not the same channel repeated for all
- [ ] Each retention approach includes a named churn early-warning signal, not just a generic "keep them engaged"
- [ ] The prioritization summary names one segment to over-invest in and one to deprioritize — no hedging
- [ ] Segment names are concrete and platform-specific, not generic ("High-Value," "Segment A")
Notes
- The most common supply-strategy mistake is treating single-listing casual hosts and multi-listing operators as one funnel — they need opposite acquisition and onboarding motions
- High-touch onboarding rarely pays off for low-LTV segments; reserve it for the segments where the LTV:CAC ratio justifies human time
- If the platform is early-stage with thin data, lean toward fewer, broader segments (5) and validate before building segment-specific machinery
- Reactivation of dormant hosts is often cheaper than net-new acquisition — always check whether a dormant segment deserves its own play before spending on acquisition
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills