Abstract
The study aims to assess the impact of non-financial measures like satisfaction, relationship-related driver, loyalty and word-of-mouth on the lifetime value of customers of small retail businesses. This work is targeted to develop a conceptual phenomenon on the impact of these drivers on customer lifetime value from the viewpoint of owners of the entities. 30 in-depth interviews are conducted. The interviews are analysed following the six-step thematic analysis method. The analysis reveals significant influence of all the four factors. It is found that the participants have their own ways of maintaining these drivers for an enhanced lifetime value. The study concludes with a discussion on the identified factors and the related practices followed by these entities.
Date Received
May 12, 2025
Date Revised
August 14, 2025
Date Accepted
December 23, 2025
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bhattacharyya, Sharmistha and Sarma, Mrinmoy Kumar
(2025)
"Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): A Qualitative Study from India on how Satisfaction, Relationships, Loyalty and WOM (Word-of-Mouth) Shape CLV,"
Markets, Globalization & Development Review:
Vol. 10:
No.
4, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr/vol10/iss4/4
Included in
Development Studies Commons, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons, International Business Commons, Marketing Commons, Other Business Commons
Author Bio
Sharmistha Bhattacharyya is an Assistant Professor of Commerce at a Government College in India. The author is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Marketing from the Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University, Assam, India. The author’s research is on relationship marketing, focusing on the concept of Customer Lifetime Value.
Mrinmoy Kumar Sarma, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Department of Business Administration in Tezpur University, Assam, India. The author has research experiences in services marketing and relationship marketing. In ongoing research work, the author focuses on identifying the factors affecting Customer Lifetime Value using qualitative research approaches.