{"id":1490,"slug":"rule-quarantine-recycled-retention-magnitudes","title":"Rule: quarantine the recycled retention magnitudes (5x-25x, 25-95pct, 80/20, 20-30pct AI churn) until primary sourced","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["editorial-discipline","citation-practices","customer-retention"],"reference_body":"**Rule.** Do not cite the \"5x-25x cheaper to retain,\" \"5pct retention → 25-95pct profit,\" \"80pct profits from 20pct customers,\" or \"AI churn prediction → 20-30pct retention improvement\" magnitudes in any Candid article until the primary source has been located and the original conditions re-read.\n\n**Why.** These four figures circulate vendor-to-vendor across the analytics blogosphere ([[retention-magnitude-vendor-recycled-quarantine]]) without traceable primary citation. The 25-95pct figure ultimately traces to Reichheld / Bain-era work but the qualifying conditions have eroded through the citation chain. The 5-25× has a frequently-misattributed primary source. Treating them as facts inherits the credibility erosion of the chain.\n\n**How to apply.** When a draft uses any of these magnitudes, replace with the capability claim from [[informs-analytics-magazine-churn-binary-classification]] or drop. If the primary source is later located and re-read, restate the claim with the original's qualifying conditions intact.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-information-asymmetry-decision-edge-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer): the affirmative, inward decision-edge case for data intelligence — information asymmetry applied to pricing, demand, risk, retention, targeting (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"informs-analytics-magazine-churn-binary-classification","title":"INFORMS Analytics Magazine — churn modelled as binary classification on RFM / engagement signals (logistic regression / decision trees / ensembles)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"retention-magnitude-vendor-recycled-quarantine","title":"Quarantine: \"5x-25x cheaper to retain,\" \"5pct retention → 25-95pct profit,\" \"80pct profits from 20pct customers,\" \"AI churn → 20-30pct retention improvement\" — vendor-recycled, untraced to primary","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T01:14:48.836Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T01:14:48.836Z"}