News & Opinions

5 Ways to Keep It Real with Real-Time Marketing

Instant delivery of marketing messages to customers triggered upon customer behaviors in real-time such as page views, clicks, social interactions, location, etc., is at the bleeding edge of today’s marketing tech. Watching all activity generates a lot of data that might indicate customer preferences and readiness to buy something.  But as many marketers have found… Read More

Let the bad times roll?

Chrysler’s in bankruptcy. GM may be next. The silver linings on the cloudy horizon are pretty faint right now. And, yet … I’m not ready to give up the ghost and I doubt that you are either. The question is, what to do? Sit around and wait for things to change? Or take some action… Read More

So what will it take to convince you?

All of us could use some direct marketing help in today’s tough environment, and there are plenty of marketing services firms ready to sell their customer analytics solutions. But more than ever companies need to spend their money wisely and justify, in advance if possible, commitments they are about to undertake. At the risk of… Read More

Beware of the Cellophane Curtain

On the shelf next to the fax machine in my office sits a boxed piece of software called GOLDMINE, “The #1-Rated Contact Manager.” Copy on the box says it is “100% Internet Ready!” and “Designed for Microsoft Windows 95”, which gives you some idea of how long it’s been sitting there with its cellophane shrink-wrap… Read More

Marketing to your best customers when business stinks

It’s the oldest cliché in business – recession is a time of opportunity. But a raft of research confirms it’s true. People who market aggressively in downturns not only survive but consistently emerge stronger. As Casey Stengel would say if he were alive today, “you could Google it.” The most aggressive approach to bad times… Read More

How to measure marketing effectiveness

“You’ve looked at our data. So how are we doing? How do we compare with your other customers?” These were questions thrown at me by one of our newer customers, but they weren’t new questions. Marketers are hungry for an outside, impartial opinion of their efforts. It’s a fair question and a challenge we couldn’t… Read More