How to Know if Your Marketing Is Worth It (Without Needing a Whole Analytics Team)

Podcast Episode Transcript

Hey, and welcome back to the Methodical Marketer's Guide to Greatness. I'm Zia.

So today’s episode is for anyone who has ever sat there wondering, “Is my marketing even working?”

You know that feeling? You’ve done the Canva graphics. You’ve posted, boosted, maybe even dabbled in ads. And then you wait. You watch the likes. Maybe you get some clicks. But you still don’t really know if any of it made a difference. Or if it was just money out the door.

I’ve been there. A lot of us have.

And I think one of the biggest reasons marketing feels overwhelming, especially when you’re a small business owner without a full team, is that we don’t always know what success should look like. We’re trying to measure it using surface-level stuff like followers or likes, or “how it felt”.

But here’s the thing: there’s actually a really simple number that can help you get some clarity. It’s not fancy. It doesn’t need a spreadsheet. But once I learnt it, I stopped overthinking every single decision.

It’s called Customer Lifetime Value.

Why Marketing Feels So Unclear Sometimes

So, before I explain what Customer Lifetime Value actually is, let’s talk about the chaos for a second.

Marketing is hard to measure when you’re not sure what you’re aiming for. And when you’re a small business owner (or a team of one), every euro you spend feels personal. You’re not just making a decision for your marketing budget. You’re making a decision for your grocery budget. For your actual, real-life time.

And when things don’t immediately convert? You start questioning everything.

“Should I have run that ad?”

"Was the discount too much?”

“Should I have just kept posting for free instead?”

It’s exhausting.

And it’s made worse by the fact that nobody’s ever really taught us how to evaluate whether our marketing is worth it.

Until I came across this one concept: Customer Lifetime Value.

What Is Customer Lifetime Value?

Customer Lifetime Value (or CLV for short) is a way to estimate what one customer is worth to your business over time.

Not just the first time they buy from you. But over the whole course of the relationship. Every repeat purchase. Every referral. Every time they come back for something new. It’s the real value of that relationship.

And when you start looking at your marketing decisions through that lens, things get a whole lot clearer.

Here’s the super simple formula:

Customer Lifetime Value = Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan

Let’s break it down with an example.

Say you’re a nutritionist. You charge €100 per session. Your average client books five sessions over six months. That’s €100 × 5 = €500.

That’s your Customer Lifetime Value for that kind of client.

Or maybe you’re a dog groomer. You charge €45 per appointment. Your regular clients come every 6 weeks, so about 8 times a year. And most stay with you for 2 years. That’s €45 × 8 × 2 = €720.

Suddenly, spending €50 on a local ad or a first-visit discount makes sense. You’re not losing money, you’re investing in someone who could be worth over €700 to your business.

It’s just a different way to look at it. And it’s a more useful way.

What Customer Lifetime Value Changed for Me

Now, when I learnt this (I’ll be honest), I had one of those facepalm moments.

Because I realised I’d been undervaluing a lot of what I was doing. I’d get one sale and feel unsure whether to keep pushing that offer. Or I’d launch something, get a few early buyers, and then stall because I wasn’t sure it was working.

But when I sat down and did the maths on my own Customer Lifetime Value, it changed everything.

I realised that some of my clients came back for multiple sessions. Others bought one service, then joined my email list, then joined a workshop or bought a product. They weren’t one-time buyers; they were long-term relationships.

Once I could see that, I gave myself permission to spend money on ads that didn’t convert immediately because I understood the long-term return.

I stopped underpricing certain offers because I knew what those clients were worth beyond the first sale.

And I started focusing more on retention because I finally understood how valuable it was to keep the right people around.

What You Can Do This Week

So if you’re listening to this and wondering where to even start, here’s what I suggest:

Pick three clients or customers you’ve loved working with. Go look at how much they spent, how often they came back, and how long they’ve been with you.

You don’t need perfect data. You just need a rough idea.

Then do this quick maths: Average spend × How often × How long

Once you have that number (even if it’s rough), ask yourself:

• Am I doing enough to attract more people like this?

• What would I be willing to spend to bring in someone like that again?

• Is my current marketing helping me find the right people or just more people?

This is the kind of stuff that gives your marketing some weight. It turns chaos into context. And no, it’s not going to give you all the answers. But it gives you a starting point. It gives you a place to build from, and honestly, that’s everything when you’re trying to grow something real.

Conclusion

So that’s what I wanted to share today. Customer Lifetime Value. The one number that helped me stop second-guessing everything.

If this is something you want to explore more, I’ve written a full blog post on it with examples, the formula, and a bit more of the backstory. You can find it HERE.

And I also shared a free cheat sheet to help you calculate your CLV and use it in your business. You can download that HERE.

As always, thank you for being here. And if this episode made something click for you, message me. I love hearing what people are learning and what they’re working through.

That’s why I do this.

Chat soon.