Origins is a system that classifies consumers according to the part of the world from which their forebears are most likely to have originated. Each consumer on a customer file can be placed into one of 250 different origins types on the basis of their personal and family names. The segmentation could be used for example to identify people on a customer file whose ancestry is most likely to be from Ireland, Italy, or Albania.
Origins uses the same information to code customers on the basis of their most likely language and religion. An age estimate and gender can also be appended for most customers.
Origins can be used to:
- Profile customers and customer segments: By profiling customers you can identify which groups are under or over‐represented within your customer file. You can find out which groups prefer to use which products, channels and outlets, which ones you are good or poor at retaining and which are responsive to which types of promotion or reward.
- Code customers: By coding customers, you can target campaigns to improve awareness and take-up of public services by members of specific minority groups. You can also target products, such as cosmetics, media channels and travel, at audiences for whom they have be especially developed.
- Classify postal codes: Using a table which identifies the dominant Origins type in each postal code you can identify the locations in which individual communities have established themselves right down to street level (not available in Canada).
Below, you will find some reference documents that include more detail on the product, installation information, and instructions on how to use the tool.