I’m elbows-deep in an optimization project, helping the client track churn, retention, ARPU and LTV. Forbes online published this article warning about the dangers of relying on LTV; I agree with much of it. The headline was misleading, but the article was quite good. LTV is a tool, not a substitute for strategy. LTV forces you to think about retention and upsell. Many companies have no idea what their retention is by channel.