Customers are the lifeblood of any organization. Without customers a firm has no revenues, no profits and no market value. However, as competition intensifies it is harder to attract and retain customers. It is not enough to satisfy customers – we need to delight them and provide them a unique experience. At the same time, any investment in customers must show tangible returns to avoid cuts in marketing budgets.
Using several case studies from telecom, credit card, banks, entertainment, internet, and retailing, this seminar we will show that marketing executives need to think about the two sides of customer value – the value that a firm provides to its customers, and the value that a customer provides to the firm. The first, customer experience, is the investment in customers. The second, customer profitability, is the return on investment. This approach combines the traditional marketing view where customer is king with the finance view where cash is king. It also combines the creative and analytical aspects of marketing.
