Current valued customers were grouped into
“good,” “better,” and “best” CLV categories. Other
customers, those deemed “low value” CLV, were not
used in the analysis and were eliminated from further
consideration. Once these valued customers were
identified and categorized, a profile was developed for
each one to see if there were commonalities among
them. The profile consisted of data that were similar to
the variables that are available in the online database
that was obtained for this project. These types of
variables have been shown by Wind and Cardozo
(1974) and Shapiro and Bonoma (1984) among others
to have significant value in the development of a
market segmentation scheme. The concept of market
segmentation, which “. . . serves as the cornerstone of a
market-based strategy” (Best, 2000, p. 105) was used
to provide conceptual guidance in developing the
research program.