Higher Profits Through Customer Lock-In

For the most part, Customer Satisfaction programs are ineffective. Companies need to strive for Customer Lock-in. Customers are locked into a company’s product when the switching costs are high. This could result from the product being integrated into the companies business systems (Microsoft, SAP, etc). Thus, managers must ask themselves, “how can I increase the switching costs of my customer?” Bueschken's Higher Profits Through Customer Lock-In covers different strategies for locking in customers.

Joachim Büschken is professor of marketing at the Ingolstadt School of Management of Catholic University, Eichstätt. He earned his Ph.D. from University of Münster (Germany) in 1993. As a recipient of a Fulbright scholarship, he was a student in Texas A&M’s MBA program from 1989-1990. Since 1999, he also serves as the associate dean for executive education at CU. He teaches regularly in various executive education programs in Germany and Switzerland. Professor Büschken has consulted extensively with a wide range of clients including Audi, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bahn and Siemens. He is the author of several articles and textbooks, published in German and English.