ROAS is a silent killer.

It’s the temptation of instant gratification.

It's human nature, right? The quick-win, the immediate payoff.

It’s very easy to achieve fantastic ROAS overnight:

You just spend less.

Acquire less.

Grow less.

and blast with emails your Existing Customer base to make up for the missing revenue.

Revenue targets are hit, ROAS looks great, and the CMO gets a pat on the back from the CFO...

For now.

Because it won’t last.

Because you can’t grow just by squeezing your Existing Customers.

Because just as in life, in eCommerce, short-term thinking quickly leads down a path of diminishing returns.

It's the sweet candy that rots your teeth over time - and when the consequences show up hitting your P&L, they’re as fun as a root canal.

Now consider delayed gratification - it's the healthy diet, the regular exercise, the investment in our future selves. It's not as immediately satisfying, but the long-term rewards are worth it.

Discipline

It’s the discipline of optimizing your brand’s value proposition for Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), ahead of accelerating scale.

From Product to Pricing,

From Story & Values to Experience,

etc…

And then tracking Lifetime Value (LTV) in relation to your Customer Acquisition Cost (LTV/CAC) not just overall, but at a customer cohort level.

Week in and week out.

Delivering valuable experiences to your customers, creates value for your brand, and ultimately the best return on investment for your business.

But...

if you don’t want this beautiful effort to get stopped in its tracks, don’t forget two other crucial points:

#1 Financial Objectives & Incentives

Align your brand’s Financial objectives (and incentives!) with this long-term vision - because if Marketing and Finance work against each other, all you’ll get is a bunch of inefficient friction – and friction sabotages progress.

#2 Centralized Performance Marketing

Centralize your Performance Marketing management, ideally in-house, so that arbitraging investment across channels is easier and less biased.

in conclusion

It's not just about the numbers: it's about building a sustainable, resilient business that can weather storms and deliver positive-sum outcomes.

So, don't let your DTC strategy fall into the trap of short-termism.

as short-term data focus, inevitably leads to long-term damage.

And remember, if you want to invest in the long-term health of your brand:

Resist the ROAS candy.

Optimize for Lifetime Value (LTV), align your Financial goals & Organization to it, and enjoy the ride.