The Great Divide: Customer segmentation is a staple of CRM, and Royal Bank of Canada has...

The numbers "80" and "20" get tossed around quite a bit by bankers, a numerical representation of how the greatest percentage of profits is derived from a small percentage of customers.

The idea, of course, is that if you can identify the wealthiest customers and get the best share of their wallet-while saving expense in serving the rest through lower cost channels like ATMs and the Internet-you've reached the nirvana of profitability. For some that's the core of customer segmentation, personalized private banking for the rich and emerging affluent, and low-touch, self-