Developing Strategies for Customer Retention. A Case Study on an Irish Car Dealership

This paper considers the development of strategies within a car dealership that effectively promote customer retention. The research seeks to explore the importance of customer retention, the challenges faced in retaining customers and current customer retention strategies being developed by an Irish car dealership to influence repurchase behaviour of existing customers. The literature reviewed emphasises key areas to consider when engaging in strategies for customer retention. A qualitative approach was used for this research and conducted in the form of a case study. Data was gathered via observations, documentation review and interviews with a variety of departmental managers at the case study dealership. Analysis of the findings and literature provides a comprehensive insight into the role that customer retention plays in a car dealership. The results revealed a thoroughly customer-centric culture associated with the case study dealership. This study highlights some best practices being applied by a franchised car brand dealership in Ireland which may prove useful for other dealerships looking to improve their competitive advantage and sustainability as a business. The case study research identified strategies developed around using customer feedback and CRM to optimise the lifetime value of the customer which is understood to positively influence the retention of the dealership’s customers. The opportunity for further research on the phenomenon of customer retention within a car dealership is justified as a result of the investigation carried out in this study