ABSTRACT
Ordinary regression is the most popular technique for predicting a quantitative outcome, such as profit or sales. It is considered the workhorse of
profit
modeling as its results are taken as the gold standard. Moreover, the ordinary regression model is used as the benchmark for assessing the superiority of new and improved techniques. In database marketing, profit (variously defined as any measure of an individual’s valuable contribution to a business) due to a prior solicitation is the quantitative variable, and the ordinary regression model is built to predict an individual’s profit from a future solicitation.