In a world where customer expectations are higher than ever, time to value (TTV) has never been more important.
Traditionally seen as a customer success metric, TTV measures the time it takes for a customer to experience the value of a product after purchase or after completing onboarding. It helps CS teams understand how efficient their onboarding process is, identify pain points, and refine the customer experience.
However, TTV isn’t just a metric exclusive to CS teams; it has significant value in customer marketing as well. In customer marketing, where the focus lies in cultivating long-term engagement, loyalty, and advocacy, TTV can be a powerful indicator. It provides insights into how quickly customers perceive and realize value from a brand.
By leveraging TTV, customer marketing teams can identify opportunities to engage customers at critical stages of their journey, enhancing retention, and driving deeper brand advocacy.
In this article, we’ll explore why TTV matters in customer marketing, and how marketing teams can use it to optimize their campaigns, build stronger customer relationships, and support sustainable growth.
What is time to value (TTV)?
TTV refers to the period from a customer’s initial engagement with a product to the point when they experience the promised value. It’s the duration between the customer saying “yes” to the product, and their first “aha” moment when they see the benefits they were promised during the sales process.
TTV is a critical measure of how effectively and efficiently a product can deliver results to its user. A short TTV means customers are realizing value quickly, which can foster satisfaction in their purchase decision, and boosts their confidence in their chosen brand.
Eve Chatfield
Traditional use in customer success
In customer success, TTV is a foundational metric, providing insights into how well the onboarding process aligns with customer needs and expectations.
CS teams use TTV to gauge how quickly they can help customers navigate the initial setup, learn the features they need, and achieve early wins. A shorter TTV often correlates with improved customer satisfaction and reduced churn, as customers who quickly experience value are more likely to stay engaged with the product.
While TTV is important for CS, its applications in customer marketing are equally powerful.
The role of TTV in customer marketing
So, what are some of the ways that TTV can play a role in customer marketing?
Beyond onboarding
TTV is traditionally associated with onboarding, but its impact extends far beyond the first few days or weeks of a customer’s journey. TTV influences the entire customer experience, shaping how customers perceive the brand over time.
When customers experience value quickly, it builds trust and sets a positive foundation for an ongoing relationship with the brand. This is important for customer marketing, where maintaining engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty over the long term are crucial.
TTV helps marketers design campaigns that resonate with users at each stage of the customer journey, reinforcing the value they experience and strengthening their connection with the brand.
Link between marketing and success
To make the most of TTV in customer marketing, close alignment between customer marketing and customer success teams is essential. When working together, these teams can track TTV more effectively and identify where customers might experience delays or pain points that impact the customer journey.
CS teams can bring insights from onboarding and user behavior data that show where customers are meeting these challenges, while marketing can use this info to tailor messages, content, and campaigns that address those needs. This partnership allows both teams to deliver a seamless experience that not only gets customers to value faster, but also keeps them engaged with the relevant touch points along the way.
For example, if CS identifies a common delay in feature adoption, marketing can create targeted educational content to proactively address this, and this collaboration ensures TTV isn’t just a on-time metric, but an ongoing measure that informs both teams in optimizing the overall customer experience.
Why it matters
The impact of TTV goes beyond individual customer satisfaction; it has a ripple effect on loyalty, customer advocacy, and word of mouth referrals.
When customers realize the value of a product quickly, they’re more likely to stay engaged, renew a subscription, and make repeat purchases. This satisfaction creates loyalty, which is incredibly valuable to any business in a competitive marketplace, especially when you consider it costs far less to retain a customer than to acquire a new one. Customers who quickly see the benefits of a product are more likely to share positive feedback, driving referrals that attract new customers organically.
For customer marketing teams, focusing on TTV means not only helping customers achieve early wins, but also empowering them to become advocates for the brand. The faster a customer sees value, the sooner they’re likely to champion the brand within their networks, contributing to engagement, advocacy, and organic growth.
Key benefits of TTV in customer marketing
Now we’ve seen how important TTV is, what are some of the benefits from a customer marketing perspective?
Enhanced customer engagement
One of the key benefits of TTV in customer marketing is the potential to drive more proactive and engaged customers. When customers experience value from a product sooner, they’re more likely to engage actively with brand communications, explore more features, and participate in campaigns.
Reducing TTV means customers are quickly reminded of the product’s relevance, which helps them connect to the brand and feel positive about their investment. This heightened engagement boosts campaign effectiveness, as customers who’ve already experienced value are more receptive to upsell offers, feature announcements, and educational content, ultimately driving better results from marketing activities.
Higher retention rates
Faster TTV can directly influence customer retention rates. When customers achieve success and see tangible benefits from products right away, they’re more likely to stick with it, leading to lower churn rates. This is especially crucial in subscription-based models, where long-term retention is vital.
When value is built early, customer marketing teams can help create a solid foundation for the customer relationship, making it more likely customers will remain loyal even when new competitors enter the market. Additionally, customers are likely to be more forgiving of minor issues they might encounter along the way, as their trust in the brand has already been established.
Improved advocacy and brand loyalty
Quick TTV doesn’t just foster loyalty, it creates brand advocates who can then spread the word.
Customers experiencing the benefits of their products quickly are more inclined to share positive experiences with their network. This advocacy can take many forms such as word of mouth, social media endorsements, or positive reviews, but they all help amplify a brand’s message and attract new customers.
Brand loyalty also deepens as customers continuously experience value, turning them into long-term supporters who are less likely to switch to a competitor. For customer marketing teams, focusing on TTV means not only enhancing immediate engagement and retention, but also nurturing customers who actively promote the brand, creating a powerful, self-sustaining cycle of loyalty and advocacy.
Ari Hoffman
Practical ways to use TTV in customer marketing
So, now we’ve seen the benefits of TTV in customer marketing, what are some practical ways it can be used?
Personalized campaigns based on TTV
One of the most effective ways to leverage TTV in customer marketing is using the metrics to segment customers and personalize marketing messages. Now all customers experience value at the same pace, and understanding these variations allows you to tailor your approach as a marketer.
By identifying customers who are on track to experience value quickly vs those who may need more support, customer marketing teams can craft personalized campaigns accordingly with each group’s journey.
For instance, new customers who haven’t yet reached their initial value milestone might receive onboarding resources, while those who have realized value could be targeted with cross-sell offers. Driving TTV segmentation means that customers receive relevant content based on their specific stage in the value journey.
Content timing and value milestones
Another practically use of TTV is aligning content delivery with key value milestones in the customer journey. Marketers can map out these milestones, such as onboarding completion, first feature usage, or successful outcomes, and ensure customers receive timely resources just as they reach each critical point.
The result is the content feels relevant and well-timed, reinforcing the customer's sense of achievement and supporting their progress towards deeper value realization. For example, after a customer successfully completes onboarding, marketing might follow up with a “what’s next?” email that introduces more advanced features or suggestions for new ways to maximize their investment. Mile-stone driven content delivery not only guides customers through their journey but also fosters a sense of partnership, as the brand appears actively invested in their success.
Advocacy campaigns based on quick wins
Quick wins where customers experience the product’s value are great opportunities to encourage advocacy. When customers achieve initial successes, they’re often more enthusiastic and willing to share their positive experiences. Customer marketing teams can use that enthusiasm by identifying quick wins and creating advocacy campaigns around them.
For example, after a customer reaches a milestone or completes a key task, marketing can prompt them to share a testimonial, leave a review, or participate in a case study. You could also invite these satisfied customers into advocacy programs, such as customer ambassador groups or referral programs, where they can actively promote the brand and connect with other customers.
Measuring TTV in customer marketing
Key metrics for TTV in marketing
To effectively leverage TTV in customer marketing, you need to track specific metrics that provide insights into how quickly and efficiently customers experience value.
Some relevant TTV metrics for marketing teams include:
- Engagement rate
Measures customer interaction with marketing content, such as email open rates, click-through rates, and social media engagement. Higher engagement typically indicates that customers are finding value and staying connected with the brand.
- Time to product adoption
Tracks how long it takes customers to start actively using core features of the product. A shorter time to adoption generally means effective onboarding and immediate value realization.
- Net promoter score (NPS) post-value realization
Capturing NPS after customers reach their first significant value milestone helps gauge their satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the product. Positive NPS suggests that customers are happy with the product’s value, while lower scores might indicate areas for improvement.
- Customer lifetime value (CLV)
CLV represents the total revenue a customer generates over their entire relationship with the brand. Connecting TTV improvements to increased CLV means marketers can quantify the impact of shorter TTV on long-term customer loyalty and revenue.
MarTech
Implementing TTV tracking across the customer journey requires the right mix of tools. Key platforms that can aid in tracking and reporting on TTV include:
- Customer relationship management (CRM) Systems
CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot allow you to track customer interactions, segment audiences, and monitor engagement. Integrating TTV tracking into CRMs allows marketing teams to see where customers are on their value journey and tailor outreach accordingly.
- Marketing automation platforms
Tools like Marketo and ActiveCampaign can automate personalized messaging, deliver milestone-specific content, and trigger advocacy campaigns. Marketing automation platforms are particularly useful for maintaining consistent communication as customers progress through different stages of value realization.
- Customer success and product analytics tools
Platforms like Gainsight and Pendo provide insights into how customers are using the product, highlighting when they reach value milestones and where they may encounter obstacles. These tools offer a detailed view of customer behavior.
With the right tools, customer marketing teams can gain a clearer understanding of TTV, and this data-driven approach means they can fine-tune their strategies, ensure timely interventions, and continuously improve the overall customer experience.
Overcoming challenges
As with anything in marketing, TTV is not without its challenges. Let’s dive into some of the roadblocks you might encounter.
Cross-functional alignment
One of the key challenges for TTV in customer marketing is ensuring strong cross-functional alignment, particularly between marketing and customer success. While both teams play a vital role in the customer journey, their objectives and approaches can vary, potentially creating silos that hinder a cohesive TTV strategy.
For example, CS might focus on onboarding efficiency while marketing emphasizes engagement and advocacy. Without alignment, it can be difficult to create a unified view of TTV that spans the whole customer journey.
To bridge these silos, you must establish regular communication channels, shared goals, and collaborative initiatives between marketing and CS. Joint planning sessions, data-sharing practices, and integrated project management tools can help both teams maintain a clear, consistent understanding of TTV objectives.
Amie Stephens
Accurate TTV measurement
Measuring TTV accurately is another common challenge. Different teams may have different interpretations of TTV, and without standardized metrics, it’s tricky to assess progress or pinpoint areas for improvement. For example, while CS might track TTV based on product activation, marketing might look at engagement or referral rates, leading to inconsistencies in how TTV is measured and reported.
To address this, you should establish clear, standardized metrics that everyone can use to measure TTV across departments. Creating a shared TTV framework where each metric is defined and its relevance explained means that everyone evaluates progress against the same benchmarks. Also, implementing centralized data platforms or dashboards where all teams can access TTV data allows for real-time insights and a more unified approach to tracking customer milestones.
Evolving TTV goals
Customer expectations and product offerings change over time, making it necessary to revisit and refine TTV goals periodically.
What customers view as “value” can evolve with new product features, industry standards, and competitor offerings. Additionally, as products become more complex or introduce new capabilities, the pathways to achieving value may shift, affecting TTV metrics and benchmarks.
To keep up, teams should regularly assess TTV goals and adapt them as needed. This means conducting periodic reviews of customer feedback, engagement data, and industry trends to identify shifts in what customers find valuable.
Flexible TTV benchmarks that adjust to these changing expectations allow teams to remain responsive and ensure that their strategies consistently reflect the current value landscape. With continuous improvement and iteration, you can ensure that TTV remains an accurate and relevant measure of success in customer marketing.
Final thoughts
As customer expectations continue to rise, TTV is a vital metric not just for CS but for customer marketing as well. Leveraging TTV allows your team to tailor campaigns to customers’ real-time needs, enhance engagement, and nurture advocacy. Focusing on TTV means you can guide your customers to experience value faster, creating a more fulfilling and supporting journey that turns satisfied customers into passionate advocates.
Looking for more?
Time to value is a golden metric for customer marketers. This concept is key to understanding the success and impact of your team’s efforts.
If you want to continue your journey into Time Ti Value and it's relationship with customer marketing, we've got just the article for you. 👇
In this article, we cover:
- A definition of time to value
- Different types of time to value
- Time to value strategies for customer marketers
- How cross-collaboration can improve times to value
