Sales and marketing B2B experts define customer lifetime value (CLV or often CLTV), lifetime value (LTV) or lifetime customer value (LCV) as the net profit attributed to the entire customer relationship. Sales practitioners usually referred to this value as predicted, yet it can also be a historical value.

For business-to-business sales managers and marketers alike, the ability to calculate what customers are worth is hugely appealing. That is the reason why customer lifetime value is prevalent in so many industries nowadays. CLV represents a quantitative metric and brings a long-term perspective to customer relationships.

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The Business-to-Business wholesale trade in Germany and the world has changed considerably over the last years and has proven to be exceptionally flexible. It is under a growing threat, nevertheless.

Several trends underpin its transformation. New forms of industrial distribution are emerging, and big manufacturers offering e-commerce are choking the middle-guy. Wholesalers are creating tangible value for their customers while providing new services, not only logistic ones.

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In detail, distribution costs naturally differ from company to company. However, there are two steep theses in the generalization, which also appear again and again in the literature:

1. Acquiring a new customer is ten times as expensive as retaining an existing one.
2. In most cases (in B2B sales), the initial order from a new customer does not cover costs.

Interestingly, there are many citations for both theses in the literature on sales and marketing, but hardly any scientific studies.

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Which decisions are better? Intuitive decisions from the gut or rational decisions based on data and facts?

This question occupies countless researchers, and there is still no clear answer. Currently, in the age of big data, data mining and digitization, the importance of data for a business is undeniable. In the business world, executives prefer analytically sound decisions. They are verifiable, justifiable, and data can explain them.

In reality, however, the situation is different.

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B2B sales intelligence – should you make or buy your tool?

With the cost of sales sky-rocketing and customers changing their buying behaviour, sales intelligence has become critical to the success of any company.

This situation is especially evident in Business-to-Business, where the cost of sales makes takes the top red of each income statement.
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