Customer Retention: Get the Best Response From Your Customer File

2. Work towards an optimal contact strategy. “Everything from modeling to test strategies to simulations you use to better your contact strategy will improve customer retention,” says Wheaton.

3. Treat lapsed customers differently. If a customer hasn’t bought from you in a while, adapt your contact strategy. “You can offer different merchandise or merchandise bundles; change the look of the promotion itself; or even send a smaller book with the hope that promotional costs will decline less than corresponding response rates,” says Wheaton.