As highlighted in Data Mining for Golden Opportunities, there are boundless methods to identify these nuggets.
In the past, mining for gold consisted of choosing a site and then sifting through endless amounts of dirt. Sometimes the prospector only found a few valuable nuggets, sometimes he hit upon an entire vein, but most of the time, he found nothing at all and decided to either move on to another promising spot or give up mining altogether and stop wasting his time. Today, with scientific methods and specialized tools, mineral mining is much more accurate and productive. Mining for data has evolved in much the same way. Older methods executed by business mathematicians and statisticians took a long time to yield constructive information. Now, current software and techniques help make data mining a lucrative, more accessible process for most businesses.
Kudos to the banking industry for attempting to sort through the marketing relationship between savings accounts, insurance purchases, CD and other investments. Will the insurance industry be able to transition from a focus on underwriting modeling to marketing modeling. Could there be another gold vein in the mine beyond the underwriting models. Would strategic relationships between carriers (a PC carrier uniting with a Life carrier to sell each others products) enable its distribution force to be more efficient and focused? Would profitability come easier with this approach? After all, isn't it easier to sell an existing customer !