<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The telecommunication industry is one of the service industries that is most affected by the problem of subscribers’ churn. Although several techniques have been used to predict customer churn in developed countries, many of those studies used secondary data which are not readily available in Nigeria for researchers. This study investigates how Markov chains help in modelling and predicting the customer churn and retention rate in the Nigerian mobile telecommunication industry. The data generated through the survey were input in the Windows-based Quantitative System for Business (WinQSB) for analysis. The results reveal that in the study area MTN has the highest retention rate (86.11%), followed by GLO (70.51%), Airtel (67%), and Etisalat (67.5%). This result has implications for telecom firms’ strategies for competitive advantage in particular and survival in general.</p></abstract>

The telecommunication industry is one of the service industries that is most affected by the problem of subscribers’ churn. Although several techniques have been used to predict customer churn in developed countries, many of those studies used secondary data which are not readily available in Nigeria for researchers. This study investigates how Markov chains help in modelling and predicting the customer churn and retention rate in the Nigerian mobile telecommunication industry. The data generated through the survey were input in the Windows-based Quantitative System for Business (WinQSB) for analysis. The results reveal that in the study area MTN has the highest retention rate (86.11%), followed by GLO (70.51%), Airtel (67%), and Etisalat (67.5%). This result has implications for telecom firms’ strategies for competitive advantage in particular and survival in general.

Predicting Customer Churn and Retention Rates in Nigeria’s Mobile Telecommunication Industry Using Markov Chain Modelling

Department of Business Administration, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), PMB 2240. Abeokuta, Ogun State. Nigeria

Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Nigeria.

Department of Actuarial Science and Insurance, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Nigeria.

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Economics and Business

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The telecommunication industry is one of the service industries that is most affected by the problem of subscribers’ churn. Although several techniques have...

Predicting Customer Churn and Retention Rates in Nigeria’s Mobile Telecommunication Industry Using Markov Chain Modelling

Published Online: Dec 22, 2015

Page range: 67 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/auseb-2015-0004

Keywords
Markov chain, customer churn, customer retention, market share, marketing strategies

© 2015 Sulaimon Olanrewaju Adebiyi et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Predicting Customer Churn and Retention Rates in Nigeria’s Mobile Telecommunication Industry Using Markov Chain Modelling

Published Online: Dec 22, 2015

Page range: 67 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/auseb-2015-0004

KeywordsMarkov chain, customer churn, customer retention, market share, marketing strategies

© 2015 Sulaimon Olanrewaju Adebiyi et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Markov chain, customer churn, customer retention, market share, marketing strategies