Many times, perception is not reality.
There are many hidden gems in our clients’ marketing databases. These gems gradually get uncovered as we go through the Exploratory Data Analysis phase of our model builds. This is further refined by applying not just one - but several different modeling techniques as we build the strongest model possible.
Recently we used a Classification and Regression Tree method to build a segmentation model for a client. The client had a specific image of their customer profile. Our model - obviously using the client’s customer data - told us something different. Needless to say, the client was surprised and delighted that we had uncovered a hidden gem - a ‘buried’ market segment that clearly had an affinity for the product being offered - and a previously unrecognized growth opportunity for our client.
This reminded me of one of my first projects for a large advertising agency (long ago - longer than I care to remember). The project involved creating a catalog of services for the biggest telecommunications company in the US. Assumptions were made about whom the buyers would be and the graphics and copy written to reflect that. The catalog underwhelmingly performed. Mayday: client not happy!!!
My back-end analysis discovered that the actual market was 180 degrees opposite of what the assumptions and perceptions were. Based on my analysis, the catalog was overhauled and ended up exceeding expected results. Alert: Client very happy!!!
Lesson learned: Let the facts drive your marketing decisions. Perceptions can be misleading and may lead to disastrous results.