By Faisal Awartani (Ph.D.)
Insights research team recommends that companies which store information about their customers, go through the exercise of customer segmentation analytics. This will provide the management with insights about the different segments of their clients. Such Insights can help the marketing department be more efficient in targeting each segment with the necessary messages. More over the features of the customers available in the companies’ database can be used to develop predictive models in relation to different outcome variables of interest for the management. For example, in the banking sector, the management is interested in lowering the risk of defaulting on their loans. Hence, Insights team can help the management develop credit scoring models using the existing features of the customers in their database. Whenever Insights research team does not find enough features of the customers available in the data base. If Insights team and subject matter experts feel that the features available in the companies’ database are not enough, they can augment such features through an external survey that collects more information about the customers. Insights research team advises companies to keep track of important background features of their customer base such as, but not limited to, age, gender, educational level, district, type of work, among others.
In the age of the information revolution, companies (organizations) who don’t adopt data driven decision making will find very hard to stay afloat in a free market economy.