You decide to follow Lucy$$s advice and start systematically offering promotional discounts. Gradually, you learn that specific regions have more interest in certain goods than others. This information allows you to better tailor your product offerings in each country to better suit the local demand. Sales increase and customer retention is at an all$-$time high.

Lucy wants to capitalize on this success, and suggests that you take the process even further. $$We have a pretty good handle on regional preferences. We could apply the same technique but on an individual scale. That way we can start to build comprehensive customer profiles and maximize client satisfaction. If we accomplish that, we$$ll definitely see profits increase. Remember the $80/20$ rule!$$

Marco likes the intent behind Lucy$$s idea, but wonders how practical it might be$.$We$$re talking about actively managing tens of thousands of profiles. It would take an enormous commitment to effectively make that work. I think we should passively collect information and invest in database technology that could simplify the process. We won$$t see immediate payoff, but in the end we might be able to detect trends we could use.$$

Lucy disagrees and questions the value of this approach. $$What will this database tell us that we don$$t already generally know? We need to step up the individual attention to see any real benefit.$$