Patterns in nature...PATTERNS in
purchasing cycles.
If you look close enough and long enough, you can usually find a pattern. We were studying leads for one client and turned up a single inquirer who came in 26 times in different issues of three magazines as "different" people. We exposed this pattern using addresses and cross-reference directories.
The client concluded that this was a "literature collector." Not so fast... AIM called this person and he turned out to be one of their best customers who loved the client's products and just liked to have the latest literature. But you wouldn't have known that unless you saw the pattern, then confirmed it. One of the names he used was Cody, his cat. Imagine! They had been fulfilling leads to a cat! In fact, this customer lived near the corporate headquarters and drove past the building every morning going to his shop! The company honored him with a tour of the facility and all the literature he could carry!