A new marketing segmentation approach based on marginal individual utilities: applying CRM is not a chimera anymore

In the advent of Customer Relationship Management, a more accurate profile of the consumer is needed. The objective of this paper is to show the usefulness of knowing consumer’s complete utility function through his/her marginal utilities. This approach allows one to form groups of individuals with similar preferences (as traditional segmentation methods do) and to treat them individually (which represents an advance). The empirical application is carried out, on a sample of 2,127 individuals, in the context of tourism, where the customer relationship management philosophy is gaining more and more relevance.

The impact of the internet on the pricing strategies of the European low cost airlines

This study seeks to analyse the price determination of low cost airlines in Europe and the effect that Internet has on this strategy. The outcomes obtained reveal that both users and companies benefit from the use of ICTs in the purchase and sale of airline tickets: the Internet allows consumers to increase their bargaining power comparing different airlines and choosing the most competitive flight, while companies can easily check the behaviour of users to adapt their pricing strategies using internal information. More than 2500 flights of the largest European low cost airlines have been used to carry out the study. The study revealed that the most significant variables for understanding pricing strategies were the number of rivals, the behaviour of the demand and the associated costs. The results indicated that consumers should buy their tickets before 25 days prior to departure.