Suchergebnisse

In contrast to books and compact discs, the number of complex services offered on the Internet is still small. The decision-making process for complex services is different because it has an additional intermediate step of "indication of interest." The Web site is (a) visited and searched for information; subsequently, (b) a request for the service is made, which may lead to (c) a purchase. The authors acquired a unique data set from an online Dutch financial service provider, which offers services such as mortgage loans and insurance on the Internet on behalf of financial institutions. They also obtained information on whether the request for the service resulted in a purchase. The authors used the available information to predict the purchase using a latent class probit model. A direct managerial application of this model is the ability to identify and select profitable applicants, resulting in significant profit improvements for the company.

Customers can interact with and create value for firms in a variety of ways. This article proposes that assessing the value of customers based solely upon their transactions with a firm may not be sufficient, and valuing this engagement correctly is crucial in avoiding undervaluation and overvaluation of customers. We propose four components of a customer's engagement value (CEV) with a firm. The first component is customer lifetime value (the customer's purchase behavior), the second is customer referral value (as it relates to incentivized referral of new customers), the third is customer influencer value (which includes the customer's behavior to influence other customers, that is increasing acquisition, retention, and share of wallet through word of mouth of existing customers as well as prospects), and the fourth is customer knowledge value (the value added to the firm by feedback from the customer). CEV provides a comprehensive framework that can ultimately lead to more efficient marketing strategies that enable higher long-term contribution from the customer. Metrics to measure CEV, future research propositions regarding relationships between the four components of CEV are proposed and marketing strategies that can leverage these relationships suggested.