2. How can potential customers be identified in terms of profitability? As difficult as identifying existing customers is in terms of profitability, it is even more difficult to identify potential customers who will ultimately be in the top tiers. Developing a profile of the potentially profitable customer will likely require a combination of understanding existing profitable customers, delineating demographic and psychographic variables that predict profitability, and creating and testing strategic approaches to obtain and qualify customers. To date, little if any empirical work has been reported on this topic.