According to a recent survey of marketing executives by Loyalty 360, although marketers know they need to focus better on customer retention, they aren’t doing it.

To get a clearer picture of where marketers are and where they need to be going, Acxiom/Loyalty 360 took a closer look at the customer retention strategies companies are using, singling out the role that data and analytics play in these customer retention initiatives. Executives in both B2B and B2C companies from a cross section of industries take a deeper dive into these strategies and gauge how brands are using customer data.

Customer retention has become a major focus for businesses, yet, loyalty as a concept, is vague, says the report. The study pursues a number of channels and verticals within the market to define what “customer retention” means. Does it mean that a customer repurchases? Does it mean that a customer interacts with your brand on social media? Where does advocacy fit into the picture?

The days when marketers directed the one-way delivery of information (what’s referred to as a traditional “push” marketing strategy) are long gone, says the report. Given the explosion of social media and the immediate availability of information, customers are now in the driver’s seat. Consumers, not brands, choose when, where, how and if they engage with a brand. As a result, virtually all metrics, including esteem and loyalty, are in serious decline...