• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 24, 2024

Email marketers may be making a mistake when running campaigns based on customer lifetime value (CLV)

Among all brands, 81% have the ability to track CLV, but only 37% apply it to their strategy, according to a recent study from Zeta titled “Marketers Must Shift Their Understanding of Customer Value To Be Forward-Looking,” conducted by Forrester.  

Rather than looking forward, many brands are focused on the rear-view mirror, according to the study.

However, many do have forward-looking plans. The marketers and IT leaders surveyed plan to prioritize these initiatives over the next 12 months: 

• Grow revenue — 50% 
• Improve the experience of customers — 49%
• Increase integration of our applications — 49% 
• Improve customer retention/loyalty — 43% 
• Reduce enterprise risk — 42%

And CLV is considered a crucial factor in enabling the success of the business. The respondents cite:

- Martech integration — 83%

- Understanding CLB—75%

- Departmental alignment for CX — 69%

Of the companies polled, 67% apply personalized service and support as a customer value metric, and 68% say they will do so in the next two years. 

At present, 63% are using segmentation and audience-building, but 71% will perform this in two years. 

As for using offer/campaign/promotion eligibility, 54% are active now and 65% will be in two years. However, only 49% are now scoring customers based on engagement, 62% will in two years. 

On behalf of Zeta, Forrester surveyed 339 customer engagement strategy decision-makers in February 2024.