Valuing customer relationships involves an understanding of the business a whole. This is important so the value contribution from the customers can be isolated from the other drivers of value such as the brand, product and service. Frequently, the value of the customer relationships or customer list is assumed in the brand value. This is because the customer has a relationship with brand, not its owner. This is not always the case, however, and in such circumstances the customer relationships can be valued in isolation from the brand.
Intangible Business uses a number of techniques in valuing customers, customer relationships and customer lists, analysing income per customer over their expected life, customer churn, profitability and loyalty. This determines the overall value of those customer relationships to the business.
Traditionally, customer relationships are more valuable in commoditised sectors where there is little differentiation on brand. The telecoms, banking and business to business sectors are good examples of this. While there are still very valuable brands in these sectors, a greater portion of value would be attributed to customer relationships than in other sectors such as FMCG. Intangible Business is experienced in valuing customer lists for a number of sectors, applying a robust approach which withstands criticism in many places such as courts of law and many stakeholders such as auditors.