Overview

It is one of the most basic tenets of marketing management: keep your customers. For decades, study after study has demonstrated that it costs more to find new customers than it does to retain your existing customers. That’s why it not surprising that most successful companies invest a lot of their resources on customer retention.

But customer loyalty has also become the source of much debate. Always-on technology and the widespread adoption of the internet, wireless connectivity, and smart phones has made it easier than ever for customers to comparison shop and switch brands on a whim. Added to this challenge are new generations of customers who many marketers argue are less inclined to being brand loyal.

Is customer loyalty still achievable?

To answer this question, we interview Sandeep Dube of Delta Air Lines. As head of Delta’s extremely successful SkyMiles loyalty program, he offers a rich perspective on how managers should think about loyalty and retention in modern marketing.

Guest

Sandeep Dube

Sandeep Dube

Sandeep Dube is the Senior Vice President — Customer Engagement & Loyalty for Delta Air Lines, and CEO — Delta Vacations. He is responsible for the airline’s Digital Strategy, SkyMiles loyalty program, Delta Sky Clubs, Delta Vacations, and Delta’s industry-leading partnerships with companies like American Express, Airbnb and Lyft.

Sandeep has deep expertise in leading marketing and commercial organizations, having spent over a decade in the consumer lending and technology industries in consumer marketing and business strategy roles before joining Delta in 2015.

Sandeep holds an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management.

Music

  • Slim Gym by Auracle
  • Tangled Web by Auracle
  • Little Pleasure by Auracle
  • Skin Tight by Mondo Jermo

Above tracks licensed by JinglePunks

The Customer Class theme (Face of Pain) is by Michael Charles Smith licensed through Marmoset Music.