The Future of Database Technology in the Communications Game
“Once technology rolls over you, you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road”. These words by US marketing consultant James Rosenfield might sound quite harsh when he warns of the potential threat technology poses when neglected by today’s managers. But with an ever increasing pace of technological development, even the most hardsotten in the marketing community have to face the facts and open up to the many advantages and benefits information technology has to offer.
Read More»Secrecy for short-term gain, but long-term destruction
As you may know, I ran an e-mail discussion list on Database Marketing and Relationship Management with more than 300 subscribers from all over the world and all walks of life. I also attend conferences as a speaker, read on- and offline magazines, am on other mailing lists and newsletters – the works. In other words, I pretty much know what’s out there, and what not.
It’s the ‘not’ that worries me, because as far as DBM/RM is concerned, there seems to be very little in this world that is shrouded in more secrecy than this subject. Hardly anybody wants to share his experience, his strategy and procedures with the outside world. The cards are kept close to the chest — with little real info revealed — simply because it is regarded as a significant competitive advantage, and obviously companies want to hang onto it for as long as humanly possible.
Read More»Limits where there aren’t any
First it was just a mere observation, but I wasn’t quite sure if my perception was right or not. Now I know! Wherever you look or listen, even among the experts, Database Marketing is equalled with some kind of Direct Marketing, and more often than not, this is equalled with direct mail. Weird, because these ‘practitioners’ place limits upon themselves where they aren’t any. Needless to say they will never benefit from the real power of Database Marketing, which, as you may have guessed now, extends far beyond direct marketing and direct mail.
But how come? The answer is easy. Whereas maintaining a mailing list and doing some queries is easy stuff and can be done largely without any human interference, anything that goes beyond a piece of communication to the customer or prospect involves a lot more than just a database extraction and some mail merge.
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