IT and Customer Relationship Management Essay

Read the Harvard Business School case for Maru Batting Center, # KEL688. The optional technical note, Using Customer Relationship Management to Analyze the Lifetime Value of a Customer #KEL695, can also help walk through the exercises. The data in Excel format is available for download in the course package, #KEL691. Answer the questions below based on only information presented in the case and your understanding of the case. You may answer the questions in either essay or bullet points form. Be concise and substantiate your answers with logical arguments and flow of thoughts. Question 1 What is the customer acquisition cost for Maru Batting Center (MBC) for the following customers? a) A Little Leaguer b) A Summer Slugger c) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC places the ad in the local baseball enthusiasts magazine d) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC purchases the List and invites all target customers to the gala event e) An Entertainment Seeker Question 2 Without discounting cash flows to take into account the time value of money, how soon will MBC break even on the following customers? a) A Little Leaguer b) A Summer Slugger c) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC places the ad in the local baseball enthusiasts magazine d) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC purchases the List and invites all target customers to the gala event e) An Entertainment Seeker Question 3 Taking into account the time value of money and assuming that 100 percent of a customer segment will have experienced attrition once the net present value of annual profits per customer falls below  ¥100, what is the lifetime value to MBC of the following customers? a) A Little Leaguer b) A Summer Slugger c) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC places the ad in the local baseball enthusiasts magazine d) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC purchases the List and invites all target customers to the gala event e) An Entertainment Seeker Question 4 Little League representatives have approached MBC from the nearby Chiyoda ward who are eager to gain the jersey subsidy the Minato ward has enjoyed due to the company’s sponsorship. Because the parents of Chiyoda Little Leaguers will have to travel a greater distance, Maru believes there will be a lower response rate (8 percent) and a lower retention rate (65 percent), which she can make up for by purchasing slightly lowerquality jerseys, reducing the cost of sponsorship to just  ¥600 per player. However, the Chiyoda ward representatives demand that theirs be the only ward receiving such a sponsorship, which means MBC must choose between the two wards. The Chiyoda representatives argue that because their ward has twice the number of Little League customers, it is more attractive than the Minato ward. Should MBC pursue the Chiyoda ward sponsorship? Explain your reasoning.