Understanding the Processes of Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention and Customer Relationship Development

Attracting new customers is an objective pursued by any organization, which in the actual competitive environment is almost inevitably facing with a phenomenon of customer migration. Therefore, lost customers must be replaced and this process involves specific activities of prospects identification, communication channels selection and choice of the adequate supply for targeting potential customers. Processes of customer retention and customer relationship development are a logical continuation of customer acquisition plans. A retention strategy aims to maintain relationships with a highest proportion of the current customer base by decreasing their migration rate. A relationship development strategy involves additional efforts to increase the value or profitability of existing customers. These strategies are differently designed in relation with various customer segments, depending on their current attractiveness and their development potential. Retention strategies may be classified into two main categories, positive and negative, in light of the influence they have on customer repurchase behaviour and attitudes. Development objectives relate primarily to selling additional products and services to customers in the current database and selling higher value or higher profit margin products and services to the same customer segments.