Value
Anton Buchner, Founder, Front Foot Marketing Last updated 8 August 2026
Are we growing the right customers?
The question behind the question
How many customers did we win?
Which customers are worth winning?
The straight answer
Not every customer is equally valuable. Not every source of growth deserves more investment.
You can grow revenue while margins decline. Acquire more customers while acquiring less valuable ones. Increase sales while increasing what it costs you to serve them.
The deeper answer
The important question isn't "how many customers did we acquire?"
It's "which customers are creating the most value for the business, and why?"
The biggest customer isn't necessarily the best customer.
The fastest-growing segment isn't necessarily the most attractive one.
The channel delivering the most conversions isn't necessarily delivering the best commercial outcome.
Growth becomes more useful once you understand the quality of it, not just the quantity.
If you want a structured read on where value is being created, take the Customer Value Diagnostic.
The uncomfortable bit
Your best-performing customer segment might not be the segment you should grow.
What we know
- Total customers acquired and total revenue by segment
- Which channel produced the most conversions
What we don't
- The full cost to serve by segment, once support, discounting and churn are included
- Whether the fastest-growing segment is adding to your best customers, or quietly displacing them
What we need to decide anyway: Which segments to keep investing in, before the cost-to-serve numbers are perfect.
What I'd challenge
I'd challenge the idea that your fastest-growing segment is automatically your best one. Growth without a margin and cost-to-serve check is just a bigger number, not a better business.
The Anton Test
Would we still be chasing this segment if we had to fund it with our own money?
What I'd do next
I'd start by pulling the last twelve months of customer revenue and margin by segment. Then I'd look at acquisition cost, retention and contribution. I wouldn't touch the media plan yet.
The decision
This is ultimately a decision about which segments earn more investment, and which get left alone.
This connects to the broader decision on Customer value, if you want the fuller picture.
Keep asking
Related answers
Value
Is marketing actually creating value?
Revenue isn't customer value, and activity isn't commercial impact.
Investment
Where should we stop spending?
The hardest marketing decision isn't where to invest more. It's what to stop.
Decision
What happens when the numbers disagree?
Don't automatically believe the number that looks most precise.
Still working out what the real question is?
Sometimes the hardest part isn't finding the answer. It's knowing which question to ask.