Seth Godin wrote about the state of DTC advertising and why it always leads to ruin.
His solution is simple, though not easy:
Your (current) customers need to bring you your (new) customers.
Eric Davis
Analyze your customer's behaviors before they defect
Your customers aren't yours forever. Some might have defected today, never to be seen again.
You need to analyze your customer behavior so you can reach them before they defect.