Collaborate with students on the following exercise. In particular, consider using Google Docs, Windows Live SkyDrive, Microsoft SharePoint, or some other collaboration tool. Mary Keeling owns and operates Carbon Creek Gardens, a retailer of trees, garden plants, perennial and annual flowers, and bulbs.
"The Gardens," as her customers call it, also sells bags of soil, fertilizer, small garden tools, and garden sculptures. Mary started the business 16 years ago when she bought a section of land that, because of water drainage, was unsuited for residential development.
With hard work and perseverance, Mary has created a warm and inviting environment with a unique and carefully selected inventory of plants. The Gardens has become a favorite nursery for serious gardeners in her community. "The problem," she says, "is that I've grown so large, I've lost track of my customers. The other day, I ran into Tootsie Swan at the grocery store, and I realized I hadn't seen her in ages.
I said something like, ‘Hi, Tootsie, I haven't seen you for a while,' and that statement unleashed an angry torrent from her. It turns out that she'd been in over a year ago and had wanted to return a plant. One of my part-time employees waited on her and had apparently insulted her, or at least didn't give her the service she wanted. So, she decided not to come back to The Gardens. "Tootsie was one of my best customers. I'd lost her, and I didn't even know it! That really frustrates me. Is it inevitable that as I get bigger, I lose track of my customers?
I don't think so. Somehow, I have to find out when regular customers aren't coming around. Had I known Tootsie had stopped shopping with us, I'd have called her to see what was going on. I need customers like her. "I've got all sorts of data in my sales database. It seems like the information I need is in there, but how do it get it out?" In this exercise, you will apply the knowledge of this chapter to Mary Keeling's problem.
1. Mary wants to know when she's lost a customer. One way to help her would be to produce a report, say in PDF format, showing the top 50 customers from the prior year. Mary could print that report or we could place it on a private section of her Web site so that she can download it from wherever she happens to be. Periodically-say, once a week-Mary could request a report that shows the top buyers for that week.
That report could also be in PDF format, or it could just be produced onscreen. Mary could compare the two reports to determine who is missing. If she wonders whether a customer such as Tootsie has been ordering, she could request a query report on Tootsie's activities. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this solution.
2. Describe the best possible application of an OLAP tool at Carbon Creek. Can it be used to solve the lostcustomer problem? Why or why not? What is the best way, if any, for Mary to use OLAP at The Gardens? If none, explain why.
3. Describe the best possible application of decisiontree analysis at Carbon Creek. Can it be used to solve the lost-customer problem? Why or why not? What is the best way, if any, for Mary to use decision-tree analysis at The Gardens? If none, explain why.
4. Describe the best possible application of RFM analysis at Carbon Creek. Can it be used to solve the lost-customer problem? Why or why not? What is the best way, if any, for Mary to use RFM at The Gardens? If none, explain why.
5. Describe the best possible application of marketbasket analysis at Carbon Creek. Can it be used to solve the lost-customer problem? Why or why not? What is the best way, if any, for Mary to use marketbasket analysis at The Gardens? If none, explain why.
6. Which of the applications of BI tools in this exercise will provide Mary the best value? If you owned Carbon Creek Gardens and you were going to implement just one of these applications, which would you choose? Why?