Customer Retention Program free essay sample

In the world of marketing, there are many techniques that are used to promote new products and services and customer retention programs. Sales promotion techniques are a powerful way of getting the marketing message across to all marketing channels, and are becoming increasingly sophisticated in order to be seen and heard in such a crowded market. Our company is aware that there may a small loss of market share, and wants to do something important and drastic to make that occur. We will call our hypothetical company Ready Rental (RR). This company is international, and wants to motivate heavy users to become more loyal by offering incentives and perks. First, we will outline a basic plan to design this program, then offer some preliminary ideas that may help identify which important aspects of renting would help motivate a customer to be more loyal to RR. Statement of Problem The rental car industry is extremely complex and competitive. We will write a custom essay sample on Customer Retention Program or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page More and more companies are placing their travelers on a budget, and there is significant competition for the business travel dollar. Business travelers are typically the largest customer base for rental cars, and provide the most regular income. They are, however, fickle purchasers, continually being pressured to find the best deal, most comfort, and most convenience. The task is to find the appropriate incentive program to allow them to overwhelmingly prefer RR. Information Needs Assessment (Overview): What is the typical business travel like? Demographics, etc. What are the most important things for a business traveler regarding their rental car? Which company do they currently prefer and why? Of a list of incentives, what numerical rank do each of these have by way of importance (dollar discount, coupons for mileage or partner restaurants, free hotel upgrades, free size upgrades, vacation packages for personal use based on volume, better business rates, easier checkin/checkout, travel assistance, etc. Are those needs being met now? If so, how if not, why? Research Step 1 Step 1 would be a series of 4-5 focus groups in the major travel cities. Since it will be difficult to get business travelers or the company decision maker to spend the time, utilize online conferencing technology, prescreen the invitees, 5-8 per group, and partner with a restaurant or other travel related industry (who are having similar downturns) to offer a nice prize (e. g. $50 gc for Red Robin, etc. ). The key to this research will be to establish the baselines before spending research dollars on a larger, quantitative study. Overview of Research Proposal RR Rentals Customer Retention Program Once the qualitative portion of the data is collected, we will have a basic understanding of what the client needs. Then, to make the results far more meaningful, we will need to collect a larger quantitative sample from different regions, demographic groups, and since we are international, countries. This will be done using several survey methods, each with a small coupon attached to make it worth the clients time. For example: Place a survey in every car rented for x period of time, attach a coupon or spiff to survey if completed, or even a few dollars off the rental. For every client that we already have an email, send out an email survey, again, with a quick spiff. Identify major companies who likely do multiple and high-volume rentals. Find out the person in charge, HR, Travel Group, etc. who helps the company make that decision. Put an executive packet together that includes the survey, a meal gift certificate or even free rental for their time, and deliver it UPS or FedEx Ground to separate from the chaff. Make this survey worth their while the information gleaned will be invaluable, and the data set can be extended for this. Once these surveys are completed and tabulated, there will be enough data to analyze completely the basic structure that a customer retention program should take. Since it is likely the company cannot do each one, the ranking will be exceptionally valuable. Knowing that any sort of program will be long-term and relatively expensive, it is important to refine it at the research level and present only the conclusions that have merit. The data that is collected can also be cross-utilized with the marketing department because it will enhance the understanding of the type of customer RR has, the type of customer RR wants, and the type of customer programs that might have the largest impact on sales and retention.