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Improving Targeting by Taking Long-Term Relationships into Account

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Abstract

Direct marketing is characterized by its high practical relevance, and it requires decision-makers to consider a variety of success factors to ensure the success of campaigns. In particular, the choice of recipients has substantial importance, and this selection can be based on various types of information. Information that reflects the behavior of potential recipients may offer better forecasting quality than demographic data, but this common assumption has not been substantiated empirically. On the basis of empirical data, this article examines whether such data can produce improved forecasting quality. The data set consists of the customer base of a German insurance company. With path analysis, the authors reveal that behavioral data achieve better predictability than demographic data. The consideration of these aspects thus allows for economically more advantageous management of direct marketing campaigns.

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Correspondence to Benedikt Lindenbeck .

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Lindenbeck, B., Olbrich, R. (2019). Improving Targeting by Taking Long-Term Relationships into Account. In: Rossi, P., Krey, N. (eds) Finding New Ways to Engage and Satisfy Global Customers. AMSWMC 2018. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02568-7_17

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