GrowthObservation 0012 min read
4
Revenue is evidence, not an explanation.
A rising line proves something happened. It says nothing about why, whether it was worth it, or whether it will happen again.
Digital & Technology
Digital growth is easy to measure and easy to misread.
Market context
Market context
SaaS, consumer technology and platform businesses have more data than most, and often more ways to misread it. Acquisition, activation, retention and expansion each report their own metric, and the ratios that connect them carry heavy assumptions.
Commercial pressures
- 01LTV:CAC ratios built on assumed rather than observed churn.
- 02Paid acquisition that inflates sign-ups without lifting activation.
- 03Pricing and packaging that grow bookings but not net revenue retention.
- 04Platform economics where one side is subsidized to grow the other.
Customer economics questions
The questions leadership should be able to answer.
Q1
What is payback on gross profit by acquisition cohort?
Q2
Which acquisition sources produce customers who activate and expand?
Q3
Is net revenue retention driven by expansion or price increases?
Q4
Where would the next dollar of growth investment create the most value?
Relevant capabilities
Where the work usually starts.
- 01Customer EconomicsUnderstand the quality and economics of the customers generating growth.Explore capability
Customer · Contribution · Repeat
- 06Growth IntelligenceGive leadership the intelligence required to make better commercial decisions.Explore capability
The full chain
- 02Commercial StrategyConnect growth, economics and strategic priorities into one commercial system.Explore capability
The full chain
Illustrative commercial problem
Illustrative · Not a client example
The ratio that read 3 to 1
Illustrative pattern. A SaaS company approves its growth budget on a 3:1 LTV:CAC ratio. Replacing assumed customer life with observed churn moves the ratio closer to 1:1, and changes which channels deserve the budget.
Industries in Digital & Technology
Intelligence
Related thinking.
Customer EconomicsObservation 0022 min read
−14.6%
Growth is not the same thing as value.
A business can get bigger and weaker at the same time. The gap shows up first in the customers, not in the P&L.
Customer EconomicsObservation 0042 min read
1.2 : 1
The ratio that reads 3 to 1, and isn't.
An LTV:CAC ratio is only as good as the churn behind it. Replace assumed churn with observed churn and the green light can turn red.
A TCB engagement
10–15
Business days
Customer Economics Sprint
One commercial diagnosis and a clear 90-day path forward: the constraint identified, the economics diagnosed, the opportunity benchmarked and the intervention prioritized.
Bring the constraint.We'll give it direction.
Start with the commercial problem you're trying to solve. We'll identify the constraint, diagnose the economics, and determine whether there is a useful next step.
- 01Identify the constraint
- 02Diagnose the economics
- 03Recommend the right intervention
- 04Define the next move