I n this age of 'Me, too' Web sites, understanding your customers is not merely the key to profitability, it is the key to survival. Consumers gain by getting offers for products and services that interest them.
Companies gain by focusing their marketing efforts on the most receptive consumers.
Many organizations claiming to profile their customers take an approach best illustrated through the fable of the six blind men and the elephant. As each man touches a different part of the pachyderm, he comes to a wildly inaccurate conclusion about the beast's identity. Only by collectively combining their knowledge could the men recognize the whole. Rather than pool this data, however, many organizations stash information from each category in separate data islands that are each tapped by a different group, such as marketing and sales, technology or corporate management. The elephant strikes again.