Why LTV is a marketing metric that matters
Marketing today is complex. Customers expect every interaction to feel personal, but delivering on that expectation, at scale, feels out of reach for many marketers. Data is scattered. Segmentation is shallow. Execution is slow. And with loyalty increasingly volatile, brands cannot afford to waste time or attention.
That is why lifetime value (LTV) has become a critical focus. It is a measure of how much revenue a customer is likely to bring over time, but it also reflects the strength of your customer relationships. Loyal customers do not just spend more; they stay longer and engage more frequently.
This article breaks down the most common challenges marketers face when trying to grow customer lifetime value and offers practical ways to overcome them using connected data, personalization, smarter automation, and behavior-driven engagement.
What is LTV?
LTV can vary significantly depending on your business model and industry. For example, e-commerce brands might aim for a few hundred euros or dollars in LTV, while financial services companies may see values in the thousands.
In practical terms, LTV is driven by three variables:
LTV = (Average Order Value) × (Purchase Frequency) × (Customer Lifespan)
LTV challenge: Fragmented data means missed opportunities
When customer data lives in different platforms and formats, it is difficult to form a complete picture of each individual, let alone take meaningful action.
- Connect data sources through a flexible structure that supports both real-time and batch updates.
- Capture behavioral and preference data through forms, pop-ins, and interactive moments, without compromising compliance.
- Create unified customer profiles that power more advanced segmentation and personalization.
Where this takes you: A retailer can identify frequent browsers who have not purchased, segment them based on interest, and trigger targeted offers, without needing a manual export or IT support.
How Marigold helps: Selligent by Marigold's flexible data structure and built-in integrations unify your customer data from all channels. Its zero- and first-party data capture tools, combined with powerful profile management, give marketers a complete, actionable view of every contact.
LTV challenge: Personalization is not personal enough
Generic campaigns and static segments do not build meaningful relationships or long-term value.
- Use AI-driven recommendations to tailor offers, products, or content to each individual.
- Adapt messages based on real-time behavior, not just past activity.
- Personalize the full experience, from subject line to send time to in-message content.
Where this takes you: An email that highlights trending shoes for one customer could instead feature back-in-stock skincare for another, each powered by their browsing history and preferences.
How Marigold helps: Selligent lets marketers deliver 1:1 personalization at scale. From product recommendations to send time and subject line optimization, every element adapts to the individual in real time, making every message feel like it was designed just for them.
LTV challenge: One customer journey does not fit all
Lifecycle campaigns tend to follow a fixed sequence. But customer needs, habits, and attention spans are anything but fixed.
- Use out-of-the-box journeys to quickly deploy proven workflows, such as:
– Welcome journeys to onboard and convert new subscribers
– Post-purchase follow-ups to reinforce value
– Re-engagement flows to win back lapsed customers - Build bespoke journeys using Selligent’s drag-and-drop tools to match more complex engagement strategies
- Identify audiences based on their preferences and behavior, using the advantage of AI to predict and anticipate which content/products will resonate best with each individual.
- Trigger campaigns based on real-time behaviors, such as cart abandonment, product views, or loyalty tier changes.
- Use cadence management to prevent over-communication. Balance priorities across channels and limit messaging frequency.
- Engage across channels, such as email, SMS, mobile, web, and more, to meet customers where they are and keep the experience consistent.
Where this takes you: A customer who browses but does not purchase could receive a reminder email the next day, followed by a mobile message with a limited-time offer. Meanwhile, a customer who has not clicked in 90 days enters a re-engagement series and is removed if still inactive, keeping campaigns relevant and respectful.
How Marigold helps: Selligent allows marketers to craft flexible automations that combine behavioral triggers, cross-channel messaging, and cadence control. AI helps you identify audiences where you will get the most impact with your campaigns.
LTV challenge: It's hard to prove (and improve) marketing impact
Without clear insight into performance, marketers cannot optimize campaigns or tie engagement to real outcomes like revenue and retention.
- Use interactive dashboards and real-time reporting to track engagement, conversion, and lifecycle trends.
- Overlay campaign data with purchase behavior to understand which tactics move the needle.
- Create new segments directly from reporting insights to move from learning to action in a single step.
- Test and iterate with A/B testing to refine over time. Selligent’s subject line testing feature allows you to test multiple subject lines, ensuring that the majority of your audience receives the best performer.
Where this takes you: A marketer identifies that flash sales consistently drive second purchases. They use this insight to create a new campaign for customers with only one order on record.
How Marigold helps: Selligent’s reporting tools go beyond opens and clicks. With interactive dashboards, journey analytics, A/B testing, and segmentation from reports, marketers can easily link engagement to value and take immediate action to refine what works.
Final thoughts: Smarter marketing means stronger performance
Growing LTV is about relevance, timing, and trust.
When you deliver experiences that feel personal and valuable, at the moment they matter, customers do not just engage. They come back. And over time, they become the kind of loyal customers who grow your business.
