Customer lifetime value (CLV)

What is customer lifetime value?

CLV looks beyond a single order. A simple estimate multiplies the average order value by the purchase frequency and the expected length of the relationship; this guide shows how to calculate CLV step by step. More advanced models use past behaviour to predict future purchases for each customer, which shows which customers are worth investing in and which are at risk of churn.

Keeping and growing existing customers usually costs less than winning new ones. CLV helps you decide how much to spend on acquisition, which segments deserve premium treatment and which loyalty actions pay off over time.

Actito keeps the full history of every customer interaction, giving you a complete view of every customer, and lets marketers build highly targeted segments without code. Predictive scoring estimates each customer's expected future revenue and order frequency (scores tables in the documentation), helping you focus on the customers with the most potential.