Best Practices
May 16, 2025
TLDR
Brands should focus on promoting products that attract high-LTV customers, not just best-sellers or products with high CTR. Data-driven insights help identify these products. Airboxr’s analytics enable smarter decisions by prioritizing long-term customer relationships over short-term sales metrics. This builds sustainable growth and stronger customer loyalty.
Brands today aim to drive both immediate sales and long-term customer loyalty, which leads to higher Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Many brands promote best-selling or discounted products, assuming they attract the most profitable customers. However, this strategy often brings in customers who aren’t profitable over time. Today we talk about how brands can identify and promote products that attract high-LTV customers for sustainable growth.
The Role of Data in Identifying High-LTV Products
To understand which products attract high-LTV customers, you must rely on data, not assumptions. Best-selling products may seem like the obvious choice for promotion, but they don’t always correlate with high LTV. Similarly, products with high click-through rates (CTR), conversions, or ad spends might seem attractive, but they can often result in acquiring customers who are not profitable in the long run.
Airboxr helps brands avoid this pitfall by offering tools that analyze the long-term impact of products on customer behavior. Our team of experts works with 200+ brands to understand the decisions they make and automate the data analysis that goes into making those decisions.
By using Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) analysis, Market Basket Analysis, and RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) Analysis, brands can move beyond immediate metrics and focus on long-term outcomes. These analyses track customer behavior over time and allow brands to identify products that attract repeat buyers—those who contribute significantly to long-term profitability.
Why Promoting Best-Selling or High CTR Products Isn't Always the Right Approach
It’s easy for marketers to prioritize products based on immediate performance indicators, like CTR, conversion rates, or high ad spend. These metrics suggest a product is driving traffic and sales quickly, making it a prime candidate for promotion. However, focusing on these products can actually lead to acquiring customers who are less likely to stick around or make future purchases.
For example, a product with a high CTR might attract attention initially, but the customers clicking on it may be motivated by a one-time need or curiosity. Once they’ve made the purchase, they may not return. Additionally, promoting products with high ad spends might result in customer acquisition at an unsustainable cost—especially if the LTV of these customers is low. Brands that chase quick wins with high CTR or conversion products may end up with a customer base that’s not profitable in the long run, ultimately undermining profitability.
Airboxr helps brands navigate this by identifying products that acquire customers with high LTV potential, ensuring that marketing budgets are spent on acquiring long-term, loyal customers, not just traffic.
How High-LTV Products Differ from Best-Selling Products
High-LTV products are those that consistently attract customers who make repeat purchases, engage with the brand over time, and remain loyal in the long run. These products often exhibit the following characteristics:
Cross-Sell and Upsell Potential: Products that naturally lead to additional purchases, creating a longer customer journey.
Repeat Purchase Drivers: Products that customers are likely to return for, either because they need to replenish or because they value the brand’s unique offerings.
Long-Term Engagement: Products that resonate deeply with customers, either emotionally or functionally, leading to sustained relationships with the brand.
Airboxr’s LTV analysis helps brands identify these products by tracking customer behaviors, such as repeat purchases, brand affinity, and average spend over time. This data-driven approach ensures that brands prioritize products that not only perform well in the short term but also help build a customer base that will contribute to future growth.
Airboxr’s Approach to Identifying High-LTV Products
Airboxr makes the process of identifying high-LTV products seamless and automated. By connecting to e-commerce platforms, CRM systems, and advertising tools, Airboxr extracts and analyzes data from across the business. Its powerful Murphy AI then delivers actionable insights on which products are driving long-term customer value.
For instance, instead of simply promoting products that have the highest immediate sales, Airboxr can show which products are bringing in customers who continue to engage with the brand and make repeat purchases. This data-driven approach allows brands to shift their focus from short-term performance metrics to long-term customer acquisition, ensuring that marketing dollars are spent more efficiently.
Use this Airboxr report to identify your most powerful products.
Case Study Examples: The Customer-Centric Impact
Pacifica (Beauty, United States)
Pacifica, a beauty brand, wanted to determine which of their 5,000 product variants to promote. By leveraging Airboxr’s analytics, Pacifica identified the products that attracted customers with the highest LTV. Rather than focusing on products with quick sales spikes, they focused on promoting the items that cultivated repeat business and long-term loyalty, improving customer retention and profitability.
Cookd (Consumer Packaged Goods, India)
Cookd, a consumer packaged goods brand, wanted to boost their Average Order Value (AOV) while justifying higher customer acquisition costs. Using Market Basket Analysis, Airboxr helped them identify which products were commonly bought together, suggesting bundles that encouraged customers to make larger purchases. More importantly, these products were linked to high-LTV customers who repeatedly returned, increasing their overall value to the brand. By focusing on products that generated repeat purchases, Cookd saw a 15.9% increase in AOV within three months.
These case studies show that by analyzing data beyond initial sales performance, brands can make more informed decisions that focus on long-term customer retention rather than just immediate conversions.
Use this Airboxr report to review the spending behavior of returning customers.
Actionable Strategies for Merchandising and Ads
Once you have identified high-LTV products, you can incorporate these insights into your ads and merchandising strategies. Here are actionable steps to ensure a focus on long-term value:
Promote Products That Foster Repeat Purchases: Focus on products that customers will return for. These could be essential items, subscription-based products, or products with high cross-sell potential.
Customer Segmentation for Targeted Ads: Use customer data to segment high-LTV customers and target them with personalized ads for high-value products. By focusing on these segments, brands can improve both conversion rates and LTV.
Use Bundles to Increase AOV: Create product bundles around high-LTV items. Bundling products that naturally pair well together encourages larger purchases while maintaining a focus on customer retention.
Dynamic, Data-Driven Campaigns: Leverage Airboxr’s automated reports to create dynamic ad campaigns that adjust in real-time. For example, promoting high-LTV products during specific seasons or events can help ensure that ads reach customers when they’re most likely to engage.
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Quick recap: brands often prioritize best-selling products or those with high CTR, conversions, or ad spends. However, this can result in acquiring customers who aren't profitable in the long-term. Using data and insights, brands can promote products that attract high-LTV customers, ensuring both immediate sales and lasting loyalty.
Airboxr’s analytics help brands identify products that drive high-LTV customers. By focusing on long-term relationships instead of short-term metrics, brands can build a more sustainable and profitable business.
With data-driven tools, brands can align their promotional strategies with long-term goals, leading to consistent growth and a loyal customer base.
