The Ignition Room Huddle “The Big Debate: Retention vs Acquisition” The Result  

On Wednesday the 13^th of September we held the fiercest of debates at our Ignition Room Huddle between Tim Grimsditch in the blue corner fighting for acquisition and Virginie Faucon MBA in the red corner fighting for retention to decide which is the biggest business growth lever. 

The Huddle started with guests being greeted by the door of the IPA, which is when they had to decide which side they would take for tonight’s debate, those who went for Acquisition were given a blue sticker and those who chose to take the side of Retention were given as red sticker, many of the guests wanted to simply be neutral, however, guests were advised that they must take a side and have the opportunity to change throughout the debate, which proved exciting when vital points were made during the debate.  

Tim on the side of acquisition kicked off the debate by highlighting:  

• Prospects that make a decision on a whim aren’t thinking about your brand and when a considered purchase is made, time goes by which provides the opportunity for competitors to challenge your product.  

• It can be tough to reach your own customers, with 40% opting in to hear from you, then factoring in the point of how many people actually open the communication, which then further lowers the 40% to 10%.  

It was then Virginie’s turn to begin her argument for retention suggesting: 

• If companies increase customer loyalty by 5%, this can result in a profit increase, between 25%-85%. 
• Encouraging repeat business through loyalty schemes can provide the opportunity for cross-selling.  
• 92% of customers trust friends and family more, which applies to the importance of word of mouth and genuine referrals, which creates a greater likelihood of organic retention through a greater customer experience.   

The floor was then opened up, with the majority of the room putting their points across, creating an electrifying environment, so much so, that Nick had to step in to curtail the debate as we had run out of time. The final vote was then cast with guests having the opportunity to physically switch sides, which led to a very tight 13 vs 13 standoff, which left Alexandra Green from the IPA to cast the final vote! Virginie Faucon representing retention was then crowned the winner with a lovely bottle of champagne, Tim also received a bottle of wine for being our wonderful runner-up.  
 
The overall winner…… the debate format. Thank you to both Tim and Virginie for being brilliant debaters, and congratulations Virginie on the hard-fought 14 – 13 win, our partners the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) for hosting the Huddle, and for everyone who attended and participated.