Northwind Energy: Is the Growth Worth What It Costs?

Marketing

medium35 min0 submissions

Bain

Scenario

Northwind Energy sells renewables subscriptions in Europe. Growth has been strong and the board has asked whether it is profitable growth.

Marketing spends €30 M a month and acquires about 3,445 new customers in that time. Average revenue per user is €1129 a month at a 83% gross margin. Monthly logo churn runs at 4.7%.

Roughly 80% of new customers come through paid channels; the rest arrive organically but are counted in the same blended figure. The CMO reports a healthy LTV/CAC and wants to double the budget.

Supporting data

spend

new customers per month: 3445
monthly marketing spend m: 30
paid share of new customers pct: 80

economics

arpu monthly: 1129
gross margin pct: 83
monthly churn pct: 4.7

derived hints

blended cac: 8708
payback months: 9.3
ltv gross margin basis: 19960
implied lifetime months: 21.3

Your task

Advise the board. Your answer should provide:

Analysis — CAC, LTV on a margin basis, the ratio, and payback in months. Show the working.
Risks — what the blended number is hiding.
Recommendation — scale, hold or cut, and where.

State any assumptions you make.

Ready to move forward? Up next: Otter Payments: Is the Growth Worth What It Costs?Next question

How you'll be graded

80 points, 60% to pass.

recommendation20
market analysis20
risk assessment15
financial analysis25

Hint

Reveal suggested structure

CAC = spend / customers acquired. LTV = ARPU x gross margin x 1/churn. Judge on payback period and on unblended channel economics.