The market for business analytics is expected to grow to $9 billion this year, according to AMR Research. Unfortunately, 85 percent of customer analytics projects do not deliver a meaningful return on investment, says AMR analyst Laura Preslan.

Why? It’s the absence of predictive indicators, she says. Customers should invest in customer analytics tools that perform predictive modeling for the future in order to improve marketing effectiveness and identify service issues before they affect the bottom line. The critical issue, she says, is to leverage customer data to make forward-looking decisions, “rather than manipulating reports to validate decisions that have already been made.”

Preslan also encourages companies to focus on identifying and appropriately addressing their high-value customers. “Until companies understand their customer base and value, profits will continue to be wasted on over-servicing low-value customers while high-value customers wait,” she said.