Customer Insights Center started

On 1 January 2007, the Customer Insights Center (CIC) officially started. The CIC forms a bridge between academic knowledge about marketing and professionals in the Dutch business world, where knowledge about customers and their behaviour is becoming ever more important. Among the subjects to be examined are questions concerning the return on marketing and customer activities, how to create customer loyalty and customer value, and how to make use of channels.

Prof. Peter Verhoef, director of the CIC: ‘Many companies have huge databases with customer data, but it’s not easy to translate that into an understanding of the customer’s behaviour. The latest academic developments in the field of “Customer Insights” enable such insights to be provided and thus the creation of a successful marketing strategy.’

Companies from various sectors currently support the CIC as ordinary or premium members. The NS, Wehkamp, Experian, Loyalty Management Nederland and Achmea are premium members, the KPN and De Friesland Zorg are ordinary members.

‘These companies could be called the founding members of the Center’, according to Verhoef. ‘Next year we have research reports in the field of loyalty programmes and multi-channelling, among other things, on the programme. We recently rounded of a joint research project with VODW marketing about Campaign Management’.
In addition to these research programmes, two seminars will be organized.