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Mining for trigger events with survival analysis

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Abstract

This paper discusses a new application of data mining, quantifying the importance of responding to trigger events with reactive contacts. Trigger events happen during a customer’s lifecycle and indicate some change in the relationship with the company. If detected early, the company can respond to the problem and retain the customer; otherwise the customer may switch to another company. It is usually easy to identify many potential trigger events. What is needed is a way of prioritizing which events demand interventions. We conceptualize the trigger event problem and show how survival analysis can be used to quantify the importance of addressing various trigger events. The method is illustrated on four real data sets from different industries and countries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University, 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208-2175, USA

    Edward C. Malthouse

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  1. Edward C. Malthouse
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Correspondence to Edward C. Malthouse.

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Responsible editor: Eamonn Keogh.

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Malthouse, E.C. Mining for trigger events with survival analysis. Data Min Knowl Disc 15, 383–402 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10618-007-0074-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10618-007-0074-x

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