Customer retention and university alumni

Last Updated: August 19, 2010By

I believe that any company interested in maintaining a profitable business should be interested in customer retention marketing. Customer retention and customer retention marketing are crucial for converting one-time customers into long-term brand advocates.

I am looking at customer retention purely from a university alumni angle (more so alumni associations). It seems that very few Australian associations have got it right in terms of retention. Most of them spend huge amounts for initial alumni acquisition but it seems alumni retention is not taken as a priority. It’s a real pity to see them acquire members, service them, and leave them unchecked for future sales/purchases and word of mouth marketing.

One of the most simple, yet most effective ways to help improve retention is to listen to alumni members. If alumni feel like their concerns are addressed and questions answered in a timely and appropriate manner, they are more likely to continue to be associated with the university. Alumni loyalty retention becomes a major concern if and when universities fail to respond to alumni inquiries and/or fail to address problems within the university.

Chintan Bharwada

Chintan is the Founder and Editor of Loyalty & Customers.

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To achieve better sales and profits, most companies could be doing more to cultivate business from their existing customers. However, enthusiasm for customer-retaining strategies must not endanger sound customer-getting efforts. How companies balance the two is the big question. To intensify reaching old customers while still seeking new ones, for many firms, will mean changes in market analysis, planning systems, management incentives, and marketing and/or operations organization. In the rush toward growth, consumer marketers have tended to regard success as stemming from obtaining new customers while unwittingly minimizing the importance of satisfying old ones. It is time for more companies to distinguish between their getting and retaining functions, to assess the balance between them, and to remedy any deficiencies in customer retention. This process requires management to value the potential of current customers and to treat them in special ways to get them to keep coming back. Several major elements should be part of the new marketing mix for customer retention: Product extras Keeping customers frequently requires giving them more than the basic product that initially attracted them. Product extras for individual customers over time can play a sales-expansive role. Reinforcing promotions Product promotion works better when aimed at existing customers. If a marketer knows who these customers are, benefits can be obtained by giving them reinforcing communications. Sales force connections The sales force can play a decisive role in the customer-retention function. At a retail or service counter the salesperson is the focal point of the company's strategy and is the firm to the customer. Post-purchase communication A company must anticipate that some customers will encounter either minor or serious problems after purchasing. If the firm is not ready to hear and correct these difficulties, the customer may not repurchase  or may cancel the the relationship. Whether company or customer is at fault, standby post-purchase activities can be instrumental in saving these customers.

2 Comments

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  2. Silvia February 19, 2010 at 5:38 am

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