Objectives

The goal of this course is togive a unified treatment of the strategic and tactical aspects of customer relationship management as we know it today. While data and analytic methods are central to CRM, the focus of the course is not on information technology. The key to data is not the size, but the application to management decisions.For that, we study the process, antecedents and consequences of implementing a CRM strategy to provide insight on:

• the theoretical and conceptual foundations of CRM;
• the methods of valuation and prioritization of customers;
• the prediction of buying behavior and churn;
• the role of customer satisfaction and loyalty in managing customer value;
• the advantages and disadvantages of personalized marketing;
• the impact of CRM on organizational performance; and
• the application of CRM tools and concepts to different business settings.

Contents

The course uses a variety of pedagogical approaches. Lectures and cases are used to introduce the analytic tools and concepts behind CRM and elaborate on the readings. The challenges of CRM, however, are best appreciated and understood through practical applications. For that, students are required to complete a number of exercises. For the simulation and the project, students are required to form their own groups of up to 5 members.

1. 20.02.2023: Course Introduction: What is CRM?
2. 27.02.2023: Customer Profitability
3. 06.03.2023: Customer Lifetime Value
4. 13.03.2023: Customer Churn
5. 20.03.2023: Customer Heterogeneity
6. 27.03.2023: Customer Satisfaction
7. 03.04.2023: Loyalty Programs
8. 17.04.2023: Customer Journey and Experience
9. 24.04.2023: Personalization of Marketing
10. 01.05.2023: Customer Centricity Simulation – Part 1
11. 08.05.2023: Customer Centricity Simulation – Part 2
12. 15.05.2023: Project Work
13. 22.05.2023: Project Presentations
14. 29.05.2023: No Class

References

Required Materials:

1. Simulation license and cases must be bought from Harvard Business Publishing (the price for the course pack is about $60)
2. Articles and exercises (will be available on Moodle)

Pre-requisites

A profound interest for and understanding of marketing science is more than welcome.

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Without exam (cf. terms)  

Evaluation:

1. Individual Exercises (25%)
2. Simulation (25%)
3. Field Project (50%)

Retake

Exam:

Without exam (cf. terms)  

Evaluation:

Each component will be re-evaluated with an individual assignment or project.