Acquisition and retention · Longitudinal customer-level empirical modeling of acquisition source, subsequent behavior, and retention.
A Methodology for Linking Customer Acquisition to Customer Retention
V. Kumar, Girish Ramani, Thomas Bohling (2001). A Methodology for Linking Customer Acquisition to Customer Retention. Journal of Marketing Research. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.38.2.262.18848
Plain-English take
Acquisition sources differ in downstream retention value; evaluating acquisition without later retention can misallocate marketing resources.
How much weight to give this
2/5 Observational or survey evidence; interpret as association
The 1–5 evidence-check score is a practical reading aid, not a formal peer review or a probability that a conclusion is true. It combines design strength (2 points), sample reporting (1), comparison/control clarity (1), and how much of the paper could be checked (1). Access affects how confidently this directory can assess a study, not the study's underlying quality. Blinding is reported separately because it is not relevant to every design.
Longitudinal customer-level empirical modeling of acquisition source, subsequent behavior, and retention.
Customers acquired through alternative marketing channels in a subscription/service business.
Comparison details need confirmation in the full paper.
Only the publisher page was checked; full-text methods are not established.
Double-blind? Blinding was not established from the publisher page; this is not evidence that blinding was or was not used.
Research question
What the authors investigated
A Methodology for Linking Customer Acquisition to Customer Retention?
Design
Longitudinal customer-level empirical modeling of acquisition source, subsequent behavior, and retention.
Sample and setting
Customers acquired through alternative marketing channels in a subscription/service business.
Reported result
What the study found
Acquisition sources differ in downstream retention value; evaluating acquisition without later retention can misallocate marketing resources.
This is a paraphrase of the source. Check the original paper for definitions, estimates, statistical uncertainty and analysis details.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
The methodology depends on reliable cohort and follow-up data and does not itself randomize acquisition channels. The accessible publisher page was used for this listing; correction history was not independently checked.
Possible founder application
Use as a bounded example of a methodology for linking customer acquisition to customer retention; compare its context and design with your own market before applying its result.
Evidence access
Publisher article page; full-text availability varies and was not established in this review.
Crossref and AMA DOI record identify a Journal of Marketing Research empirical methodology paper linking acquisition cohorts with retention outcomes. Publisher page was directly retrieved; detailed full-text methods were not independently verified.
If only an abstract or metadata was available, the profile is limited to claims supported there. A paper's paywall does not change its evidentiary status, but it limits what we can substantiate from accessible text.