More education is required

Knowledge of good customer management techniques and practices is not widespread. Education in customer management is lacking, despite the efforts of many institutes, associations and forums. Key concepts (for example, simpler ones such as decile analysis, or more complex ones such as customer value forecasting or measuring the success of retention management against control groups) are still not widely used. Outbound contact strategies are surprisingly rare. Customer service competencies are under-valued. Lifetime value consideration is used patchily. Enquiry follow up is random and ad hoc. The list goes on. Good training does exist in some companies. Direct or database marketing principles (particularly in relation to analysis, campaign management, lead management, customer retention and measurement) underpin good CM. But in many companies direct marketing has a poor image, and this can lead to rejection of its experiences and contributions.