Source: adapted from Hughes, A.M., 2003, The customer loyalty solution, MacGraw Hill, New York.
Port managers should determine the lifetime value of the customers and divide them into high, medium, and low lifetime value segments. They should also determine the likelihood that the customer will leave by dividing the customers into three defection classes.
The customers a port should be most concerned about are the four most important boxes, priorities A and B. Those with the highest lifetime value and the highest probability of defecting are the priority A customers. Priority C customers are the low lifetime value or loyal customers who will never leave. Once the port manager has identified those customers with the highest retention value, the manager can do something as simple as making sure those customers are key accounts.