A Customer Lifetime Value-Based Approach to Marketing in the Multichannel, Multimedia Retailing Environment

This paper proposes a multichannel, multimedia communications framework based on the concept of Customer Lifetime Value. The framework begins with customer information from the company's database, segments the customers based on the value they provide to the company, and advocates sending targeted messages using differentiated modes of communication. The framework also closes the communication loop by identifying the appropriate modes of inbound communication for the four customer segments (“Icons,” “Go-Getters,” “Opulents,” and “Misers”), and proposes customized firm responses based on the nature/purpose of the inbound communication call. The article presents this framework in both B2C and B2B settings, offers managerial implications for implementing this framework and outlines future research directions.