From situationships to real relationships: insights from the CRM Roundtable in Oelde

One of the most engaging debates revolved around how to measure acquisition costs more precisely at the customer level. After all, anyone who truly wants to understand Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) must know what customer acquisition actually costs. Instead of relying on general averages or theoretical models, many participants advocated for a more hands-on approach: tracking costs per channel and breaking them down to individual new customers or orders. This not only leads to more accurate benchmarks but also enables more informed decisions on budget allocation and campaign management. The challenge, however, lies not so much in refining the concept itself as in putting it into practice. All participants agreed on the need to develop stronger, more sustainable solutions in this area.

The topic of customer churn was also examined in greater depth. Churn cannot be measured uniformly at the customer level but should instead be analysed along product, category, or segment lines.

• One example that was brought up: If a customer buys a small pack of Product A via Google Ads and doesn’t make another purchase within twelve days, the likelihood of churn is significantly higher than after a newsletter purchase of a larger variant.
• Another example: In the “bargain hunter” segment, the churn rate is naturally higher than among returning premium customers. It may sound obvious, but data helps establish these connections with real statistical confidence.

This level of granularity makes it possible to deploy prevention measures more precisely – before churn even becomes visible. It clearly shows the untapped potential that still lies in connecting individual data points.

The third discussion topic highlighted that relevance has become the most valuable currency in modern customer relationships. One participant shared a striking example: Their brand uses CDP data to dynamically adapt website experiences based on a visitor’s source – for instance, displaying different content depending on whether a customer arrives via Idealo or Google. Here, personalization isn’t a campaign add-on but an integral part of the overall customer experience – with a measurable impact on engagement and conversion. As one participant aptly put it:
“In the end, it’s about customers feeling recognized – not just segmented.”