Machine Learning for Direct Marketing Response Models: Bayesian Networks with Evolutionary Programming

Geng Cui (), Man Leung Wong () and Hon-Kwong Lui
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Geng Cui: Department of Marketing and International Business, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, N.T., Hong Kong
Man Leung Wong: Department of Computing and Decision Sciences, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, N.T., Hong Kong

Management Science, 2006, vol. 52, issue 4, 597-612

Abstract: Machine learning methods are powerful tools for data mining with large noisy databases and give researchers the opportunity to gain new insights into consumer behavior and to improve the performance of marketing operations. To model consumer responses to direct marketing, this study proposes Bayesian networks learned by evolutionary programming. Using a large direct marketing data set, we tested the endogeneity bias in the recency, frequency, monetary value (RFM) variables using the control function approach; compared the results of Bayesian networks with those of neural networks, classification and regression tree (CART), and latent class regression; and applied a tenfold cross-validation. The results suggest that Bayesian networks have distinct advantages over the other methods in accuracy of prediction, transparency of procedures, interpretability of results, and explanatory insight. Our findings lend strong support to Bayesian networks as a robust tool for modeling consumer response and other marketing problems and for assisting management decision making.

Keywords: direct marketing; Bayesian networks; evolutionary programming; machine learning; data mining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (42)

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