Locking the customer churn during the unlocking process.

Abstract

By Ritu Mehta During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many brands are facing the challenge of customer churn. Particularly affected are the ones in the hospitality industry, in-store retailing, airlines, and membership-based services. With the declining second wave of the COVID19 pandemic and a calibrated unlocking of the economic activities, marketing strategists are augmenting their efforts towards customer retention. One of the critical issues these firms are grappling with is who should they target with their retention programs given their limited marketing budget. On one extreme are customers with a high propensity to defect due to the changing dynamics in the post-pandemic world, and at the other end are a firm's most loyal customers who have demonstrated stickiness during the turbulent times. How can the marketer best allocate its critical marketing spend and effort?