Classic Customer Marketing Articles

This is an archive; for latest see the Marketing Productivity Blog and Twitter: @jimnovo

These articles are keepers for customer retention oriented, Data-Driven marketers; they are selected primarily because they provide very short-in-supply case studies, metrics, or process models for relationship marketing, customer retention, or customer loyalty marketing on the Web.

It's All About Behavior
June 18, 2004  DM Review
This article is a great overview of customer analysis at a high level by an experienced slicer-dicer.  He sure makes it sound like a lot of work!  And it is, if you start at the 10,000 foot level.  The fact is just about anybody who has access to transactional customer data can create simple customer marketing models and use them to increase profits.

11 Ways Search Engine
Marketing Is Like Direct Marketing
June 8, 2004  DM News
Those of you who know my work can just skip this article, we started on this idea in 2000 when looking at search audience quality, and I got into it more specifically here.  For those who don't think all this has basically been done before, check the article out.  The most important statement for you folks is this one: "When I give a speech to online marketers, many are intrigued that so much of what they live and breathe has been articulated in direct marketing terms for over half a century already."  'Nuff said.  Read the article, then if you want to know more about how what he is saying affects search marketing directly, read this one and this one.  Interested in the global idea of "internet = direct marketing" and what that means for you in the future?  Click here.

Net Worth (B2B Customer Valuation)
June 1, 2004  Direct Magazine
Absolutely fabulous piece by the very smart Ruth P. Stevens.  All you B2B'ers out there who don't think it's possible to measure and manage customer value, guess again.  Read about how the best in the biz make it happen.

Beyond the Black Box
May 10, 2004  Target Marketing
This article addresses a very common issue.  People work very hard on capturing data and turning it into information, but then they don't know how to act on it.  This is particularly true with data mining, when you might not be sure why the segmentation is relevant.  Think about what your models means in terms of the customer and design actionable programs that make use of this knowledge.

What a Woman Wants Shopping Online
April 16, 2004  Internet Retailer
The title is a bit deceptive, but the results remarkable.  People who clicked on women's clothes were more likely to buy them than people who identified themselves as women.  When you are looking to generate behavior, use behavior to target; it beats demographics every single time.  After all, do you really care who the buyer is, as long as they buy?

Data Tables Sell Dinner Tables
April 12, 2004  Direct Magazine
Are you thinking of spending a lot of money on enhancing customer data with demographic information?  Think about what your end goal is.  If your end goal is to drive behavior, then behavioral metrics are what you need, not demographics.  Demographics may help you craft message, but they tell you nothing about what really matters - likelihood to respond.

Data for Sail
April 5, 2004  Direct Magazine
What a fantastic example of a company on top of both customer analysis and turning the analysis into profitable actions.  No fuss, no really fancy systems, a customer database and people who know what to do with it.  Simple yet stunning segmentation and results, not bad for a company founded in 1848.

Must Read Classic Articles (continued)