Beyond ROAS: Rethinking Customer Lifetime Value, Commerce Strategy & Long-Term Growth (Bryan Gildenberg, Founder of Confluencer Commerce)

The CPG View · Oct 20, 2026 · 26m

Every company says they want to build long-term customer value, but then the annual budget shows up and suddenly everyone is focused on this quarter. Why is it so hard for organizations to invest today for a return they may not see until another budget cycle?

Let’s talk about CLV for a minute. The concept makes perfect sense on paper, but the models can sometimes assume a level of customer loyalty that simply doesn’t exist. Where do you think companies get overly optimistic when they try to put a value on a customer?

In highly competitive categories, are we even thinking about the “lifetime”…