CAC is higher than LTV
Every new customer loses money and growth makes it worse.
Root causes
In the order we check them
- No repeat engine
- No subscription or refill flow
- Single-product catalogue
- Discount-led acquisition
The fix
What we change
Retention flows, bundle and refill architecture, cohort-level LTV reporting, shift budget from acquisition to activation.
FAQs
CAC is higher than LTV: the detail
The detail lives here so the rest of the page stays readable. Open what matters to you.
What causes cAC is higher than LTV?
In the order we check them: no repeat engine; no subscription or refill flow; single-product catalogue; discount-led acquisition.
How do you fix it?
Retention flows, bundle and refill architecture, cohort-level LTV reporting, shift budget from acquisition to activation. That is the whole of our CAC to LTV ratio approach — no single lever does it alone.
How long does CAC to LTV ratio take?
Typical result: cac. Diagnosis takes days, the structural work takes weeks, and the compounding shows up in the second and third month.
Is this a media problem or an operations problem?
Usually both, which is why single-channel vendors cannot solve it. The symptom appears in the ad account and the cause sits in offer, checkout, fulfilment or confirmation.
What should we measure while fixing it?
Contribution margin per order, not platform return on ad spend. If the fix has not shown up in contribution margin within 60 days, the diagnosis was wrong and we say so.
Can we do this in-house?
Often yes, and the audit gives you the written CAC to LTV ratio plan whether or not you engage us. What in-house teams usually lack is not skill but the volume of parallel testing needed to move the number quickly.
What does it cost to have you fix it?
The 90-day Growth Sprint is the usual entry point: fixed fee, full diagnostic, then rebuild of the one or two things costing the most.
What if it does not improve?
If the agreed KPI has not moved in 90 days, the next 30 days are free.
Could the cause be no repeat engine?
It is on the list, and it is number 1 in the order we check. Ruling it in or out takes an afternoon with the account and the order data, which is why we diagnose before prescribing rather than starting with whichever fix we happen to sell.
Could the cause be no subscription or refill flow?
It is on the list, and it is number 2 in the order we check. Ruling it in or out takes an afternoon with the account and the order data, which is why we diagnose before prescribing rather than starting with whichever fix we happen to sell.
Could the cause be single-product catalogue?
It is on the list, and it is number 3 in the order we check. Ruling it in or out takes an afternoon with the account and the order data, which is why we diagnose before prescribing rather than starting with whichever fix we happen to sell.
Could the cause be discount-led acquisition?
It is on the list, and it is number 4 in the order we check. Ruling it in or out takes an afternoon with the account and the order data, which is why we diagnose before prescribing rather than starting with whichever fix we happen to sell.
One-page fix plan
Send me the plan for my numbers
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