European Management Journal
European Management Journal (2013) 31, 1– 15
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/emj
Successful customer value management: Key lessons and emerging trends
Peter C. Verhoef a b
a,*,1
, Katherine N. Lemon
b,1
University of Groningen, Netherlands; BI Norwegian School of Management, Norway Boston College, USA; University of Groningen, Netherlands
KEYWORDS Marketing; Relationship management; Trends; CRM; Customer networks; Social media
Summary In the past decade, firms have paid increasing attention to customer value management (CVM). Through customer-centric management systems, firms aim to maximize customer value. In this article, we put forth six important lessons that firms can employ for successful CVM, integrating available research knowledge and best practices: (1) use CVM to improve business performance; (2) ensure that CVM is more customer driven than IT driven; (3) adopt customer lifetime value as a core metric; (4) invest in strong analytical capabilities; (5) understand the key drivers of customer acquisition, customer retention, and customer expansion; and (6) manage channels to create customer value. ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
One of the key developments in marketing and management practice in the past decade has been the growth of customer value management (CVM). Many firms have invested in large customer databases to understand, monitor, and influence customer behavior (Winer, 2001). Recent figures from Forrester show that more than 73% of large enterprises in the United States have implemented or are planning to implement customer management programs. A critical aspect of CVM is the role of customer value, or the economic value of the customer relationship to the firm. Firms aim to increase the value of their customer base by attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, reducing the
* Corresponding author. Address: University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of Marketing,
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/emj
Successful customer value management: Key lessons and emerging trends
Peter C. Verhoef a b
a,*,1
, Katherine N. Lemon
b,1
University of Groningen, Netherlands; BI Norwegian School of Management, Norway Boston College, USA; University of Groningen, Netherlands
KEYWORDS Marketing; Relationship management; Trends; CRM; Customer networks; Social media
Summary In the past decade, firms have paid increasing attention to customer value management (CVM). Through customer-centric management systems, firms aim to maximize customer value. In this article, we put forth six important lessons that firms can employ for successful CVM, integrating available research knowledge and best practices: (1) use CVM to improve business performance; (2) ensure that CVM is more customer driven than IT driven; (3) adopt customer lifetime value as a core metric; (4) invest in strong analytical capabilities; (5) understand the key drivers of customer acquisition, customer retention, and customer expansion; and (6) manage channels to create customer value. ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
One of the key developments in marketing and management practice in the past decade has been the growth of customer value management (CVM). Many firms have invested in large customer databases to understand, monitor, and influence customer behavior (Winer, 2001). Recent figures from Forrester show that more than 73% of large enterprises in the United States have implemented or are planning to implement customer management programs. A critical aspect of CVM is the role of customer value, or the economic value of the customer relationship to the firm. Firms aim to increase the value of their customer base by attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, reducing the
* Corresponding author. Address: University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of Marketing,
References: 8 An very extended additional reading list can be found in Verhoef and Lemon (2011).