Customer equity: Managing the customer-firm relationship.

摘要

Historically many firms have managed their business using their products as the life blood of the organization. However more recently, firms have begun to realize that their customers are also an asset to the firm. As a result, the notion of optimal customer management has become a popular issue in the business community. To explore optimal customer management strategies this dissertation draws upon a new concept called customer equity.; Within the customer equity framework, this dissertation explores both the managerial and analytical aspects of customer management. On the managerial side, this research explores optimal pricing strategies that are consistent with the principles of customer equity. In a separate analysis, this research also examines the optimal use of rewards, services, and add-on selling marketing tactics.; Going beyond the managerial insights about optimal customer management, this research begins to explore how to use statistical models in a customer equity analysis. Specifically, this dissertation demonstrates how four distinct statistical approaches can be used to describe the customer acquisition and retention process. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are also discussed.