PurposeTo present a new model for customer targeting when the information in customer databases is limited.Design/methodology/approachAn original conceptual framework is proposed, the customer targeting funnel model, supplemented by a composite mathematical model for optimizing decisions related to customer targeting for marketing initiatives and a flowchart to guide its implementation by marketing planners, all in the business‐to‐context and under conditions of information shortage. This “toolkit” facilitates the targeting of customers most likely to enter into closer relationships with the company, even when a significant proportion of their key characteristics have to be estimated.FindingsA case example from China, describing a computer‐based support system for the implementation of the model, shows that the user company strengthened its customer service strategy, won higher satisfaction and loyalty levels, and achieved sales growth 50 percent above the industry average.Research limitations/implicationsThe model is at an early stage of its development, and such additional features of customer behaviour as churn should be incorporated in future. The effectiveness of the model and system needs to be tested in a wider range of cases and situations..Practical implicationsTechniques of customer targeting based in consumer marketing need to be adapted appropriately for transfer to industrial marketing, and this paper offers one case in point. Shortage of customer intelligence is common in various sectors worldwide, and especially in developing countries such as China.Originality/valueAn innovative approach to customer targeting in the special conditions of industrial or business‐to‐business marketing.

A lack of adequate exercise threatens human health, weakening human capital accumulation. The relationship between exercise and income has become the focus of attention in health economics. In terms of reducing body weight and improving physical fitness, diet and physical exercise are intertwined and become effective ways to shape a healthy state. Based on individual-level survey data from China, this study quantified the economic returns of habitual exercise behavior by using an endogenous switching regression model (ESRM) to eliminate selection bias. The study shows that (1) participants in the group with regular exercise behavior increased their income by 3.79% compared with those not exercising regularly; (2) for the group with no regular exercise behavior, regular exercise increased their income by 13.36% compared with those not exercising regularly. Additionally, empirical evidence shows that both drinking and smoking can significantly increase individual income, despite unhealthy habits. These results suggest that the habit of regular physical activity plays a vital role in increasing individual income and improving overall national health, and the effect of individual behavior on income is affected by national culture. The outcomes are empirical evidence for the Chinese government to promote Healthy China Action and support developing countries worldwide to enable habitual exercise, stimulating a policy of exercise behavior.

Based on Meyer's platform-based perspective of developing new services for service industries, a detailed platform-based approach aiming at developing customer service promptly, consistently, and cost-effectively for MDEs is proposed. The Customer Service Platform (CSP) that supporting customer service innovation and implementation and its application framework are given. Structure and functions of the Customer Service Platform Support System (CSPSS), which is the main center of the CSP, are provided. Empirical application of the approach and its support system is also demonstrated.

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