CUSTOMER RETENTION

An integrated Strategy of 4 C’s
During the past two decades, customer satisfaction management has emerged as a strategic imperative for most of the firms. In the 1980’s achieving higher satisfaction ratings became a goal in itself. Only during the 1990’s was there a wide spread realization that customer satisfaction ratings were only means to strategic ends, i.e. customer retention. Today the emphasis is shifting. Beyond designing strategies to attract new customer and create transaction with them, companies are going out to retain current customers and build lasting relationship with them. We can take example of instant life insurance rates company who need to have best relation with their customers, so that they can have term life insurance business from them again and again.

Why Customer Retention
Customer retention helps a firm to increase its profitability and understand consumer preferences and needs. An organization cannot work in an ivory tower. It should gin customer’s support to continue operating and this support is gained from loyal customers. The changing demographics, the slow growth of economy more sophisticated competition, overcapacity in many industries mean fewer customers to go around. Attracting new customers has turned to be very difficult. Hence, marketers have to change the tendency of finding new customers at the cost of the old ones, but also have to realize that cutting down of defections in halves would double the average company’s growth rate.