Topic | CRM

Vendors, take note: Direct marketers will spend an average of nearly $250,000 for database upgrades this year. And they're confident these expenditures

When I was pregnant with my first child, he gave me the chance to decide our vacation destination, anywhere in the world that our budget would allow. I choose exactly what he predicted I would, Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Nearly 80% of advertisers say traditional television advertising has become less effective. Or: Half of all U.S. adult Internet users say TV captures their interest most effectively. The answer? Both.

What are the latest metrics that will help marketers build the next generation of models, and why do general advertisers seem more willing to embrace them than direct marketers? A group of CRM experts gathered to debate that subject and others.

Many firms have metrics that they show to the outside world. Then there are the ones they use internally to monitor their progress. These are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Mass marketing may be growing in some quarters, but not among the executives surveyed by Epsilon. A poll of 175 marketers in the U.S. showed that 79% are cutting their mass budgets in favor of trackable media.

How’s this for a switch? A popular magazine is using its e-mail newsletters to drive print subscriptions.

A report has come out confirming what most of us know but don’t always practice: That e-mail newsletters should be easy to scan.

Loyalty programs can be your key to high conversion rates. People like to be appreciated for their patronage—especially if you offer them something special that first-time or infrequent customers don’t get.