Customer Retention Management Research Articles

Customer retention management: a reflection of theory and practice

Customer retention is increasingly being seen as an important managerial issue, especially in the context of saturated market or lower growth of the number of new customers. It has also been acknowledged as a key objective of relationship marketing, primarily because of its potential in delivering superior relationship economics, i.e. it costs less to retain than to acquire new customers. This paper reports an investigation, through case studies, that is concerned with testing whether or not a theoretical position relating to strategies for retaining customers reflects practices in four firms. The assumption is that generalised theories, which imply universal applicability, tend to overlook the distinctive impact of contextualised business conditions on effective customer retention strategies. The paper recommends that both theoreticians and managers should consider “business context” in developing and implementing customer retention strategies.

Enhancing Enterprise Decisions through Organizational Data Mining

Organizational Data Mining (ODM) is defined as leveraging data mining (DM) tools and technologies to enhance the decision-making process by transforming data into valuable and actionable knowledge to gain a strategic competitive advantage. Presently, the majority of ODM projects focus on customers and profitability, such as customer segmentation, time-dependence studies, customer retention and attrition management, risk forecasting, and profitability analysis (5). This article defines and elaborates on the purpose, utility and industry status of ODM and how organizations are benefiting from it through enhanced enterprise decision-making. To better understand the current status of this dynamic and evolving industry and the issues shaping it, a study was conducted. The study identifies current technical and business issues related to ODM projects and how they influence organizational decisions. The results of the survey suggest that ODM can improve the quality and accuracy of decisions for any organization willing to make the investment.

Customer retention: a potentially potent marketing management strategy

The traditional marketing approach advocates the marketing mix principles and the quest for market share dominance through mass marketing techniques and a focus on new customer acquisition. This approach has guided managers for decades in planning and implementing their marketing strategies. However, several authors have drawn attention to the inadequacies of the traditional marketing approach, which led to the birth of relationship marketing (RM). RM advocates supplier–customer interaction and maintaining long-term relationships with a focus on customer retention. Customer retention, in the traditional marketing approach, is however seen as the 'end' rather than the means to delivering long-term profitability to firms. This paper discusses key issues pertaining to customer retention management, namely its definition, forms of measure, benefits and potential strategies for application. It uses examples from a variety of contexts. It is proposed that customer retention should be part of the strategic marketing planning process. Customer retention, we envisage, is a potentially potent marketing management strategy. Further research is also recommended.