Monica Eaton Discusses an All-Important Calculation for StartupNation
In her new guest feature for StartupNation, Chargebacks911® COO Monica Eaton explains the merit in calculating your customer lifetime value, or LTV. This single figure could mean the difference between profitability and going bust.
Since it was launched in 2002, StartupNation has provided millions with the information, inspiration and connections they need to start, grow and manage a successful startup business. StartupNation’s content is crafted by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. They offer the necessary insights for personal growth through in-the-trenches, how-to content authored by subject matter experts, thought leaders and business professionals.
As the name implies, your customer LTV is the total amount you can expect an average customer to spend with you over the course of that person’s life. As Monica explains in the post, few figures are as integral to your business’s success.
“LTV should be considered when determining budgets for advertising, design, market research, operations, fulfillment and customer support,” she says. “This simple calculation helps determine the best strategy to invest in promotions, loyalty programs and other methods of retaining buyers…eCommerce retailers that fail to monitor LTV have no reliable, objective guidelines for how much to spend on acquisition and retention.”
Of course, Monica is careful to note that it’s not all about acquiring customers. “Retaining and building up a loyal base of customers is one of the best strategies for growing a retail business. Increasing customer retention by just 5 percent can increase profits by 25 percent to 95 percent. Not only that, acquiring loyal customers means you’re building up a base of individuals who have faith in your operations.”
