MACQUARIE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT MGSM WORKING PAPERS IN MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESSFUL CUSTOMER RETENTION Lawrence Ang & Francis Buttle Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Customer retention has been a hot topic since the mid-1990s, but little research has been conducted into the management competencies that are associated with outstanding customer retention performance. We address that shortcoming. Our research investigates the associations between excellent customer retention and a number of management structures and processes, including customer retention planning, budgeting, and accountability, insight into customer reasons for defection, the search for advance indicators of customer switching intention and the presence of a documented complaints handling process. We find that excellence at customer retention is positively and significantly associated with the presence of a documented complaints-handling process and confidence that the company understands the reasons that customers switch.

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