Value of Retaining Clients —Sherburne

WHERE SHOULD your company place its emphasis: on customer acquisition or customer retention? Historically, marketers have been more focused on customer acquisition, but increasingly are turning their attention to retention of existing clients.

According to interactive marketing services company Acxiom, this is fueled by changes in customer behavior and the perceived increasing cost to acquire new clientele. Experts have indicated that it can cost as much as five to eight times more to acquire a new customer than to retain and grow an existing one. Whether or not this is true, the pendulum has certainly swung toward retention for many marketers.