It’s the number that makes or breaks every decision in your funnel.
LTV — customer lifetime value — determines how much you can spend to acquire a buyer, how aggressive your offers can be, and whether or not you can afford to scale.
If you’re not tracking it properly, you’re guessing. And in this market, guessing is expensive.
Here’s how to calculate true LTV and use it to build a performance brand that lasts.
1. Understand What LTV Actually Means
LTV isn’t just the first order value. It includes:
- Initial purchase (AOV)
- Post-purchase upsells
- Repeat orders
- Subscriptions or reactivations over time
It’s the total revenue per customer over their full journey.
2. Use a Real Time Window (Not Lifetime)
You don’t need to wait years. Use a practical measurement window:
- 30-day LTV = short-term cash flow
- 60/90-day LTV = paid traffic planning
- 6-month LTV = backend strategy
Measure what matters now, not just eventually.
3. Segment by Source and Offer
LTV isn’t one number.
Break it down by:
- Acquisition source (email vs. cold traffic)
- Front-end offer (which hook brings better buyers)
- Subscription vs. one-time buyers
This is how you spot what’s worth scaling.
4. Track Net, Not Just Gross
Don’t inflate your LTV by ignoring reality.
Subtract:
- Refunds
- Chargebacks
- Discounts or free shipping costs
Only then do you know how much each customer is really worth.
5. Tie LTV to CAC (and Set Your Budget Limits)
The entire point of LTV is to know how much you can afford to spend to get a customer.
A healthy brand aims for:
- LTV:CAC ratio of at least 3:1 for cold traffic
- Breakeven on day 1, profit by day 30
If your CAC exceeds 50% of your LTV, it’s a red flag.
6. Use LTV to Guide Funnel and Product Strategy
Once you know what types of customers spend more over time:
- Double down on the hooks and traffic that bring them in
- Create backend offers tailored to those behaviors
- Improve retention where it matters most
LTV isn’t just a number — it’s a map to scale.
Final Word: Know Your Numbers or Get Crushed by Someone Who Does
7-figure supplement brands don’t guess. They calculate.
They know:
- What their customer is worth
- How long it takes to recoup CAC
- Where to focus upsells, retention, and backend offers
At Buy Naturals, we help brands dial in the real numbers behind their growth — and build funnels designed to scale with precision.
