July 2009 Current Issue

Cover Story : How Fast Is Your Fulfillment?
At its most basic level, the Web is an inquiry management environment. Consumers and businesspeople head online almost every day to source products and solutions that fit their needs. Depending on the urgency of their needs, they might request some...

B-to-B : Digital Remix
B-to-b marketers tinker with online channels, watch social media emerge and fret over fitting it all into a marketing mix dominated by conventional approaches. As the current recession continues through 2009, a company’s marketing mix must produce sales-ready results using...

Database : Customers Rule
Not long ago, I worked with a client who had pieces of customer data spread across 20 different technology platforms. We affectionately named this environment “the spaghetti bowl.” A few of the right “noodles” conveniently crossed, but for the most...

Message & Media : Opt In to the Inbox
As a direct marketing copywriter and avid reader, I’m a big fan of e-mail newsletters. They are the perfect combination of medium and message....

Direct Selling : Hot or Not?
“Sex appeal”—it sounds so “red lights and velvet.” I think about fashionable women’s magazines and the “advice” they provide for putting forth the better you. Stealing a page from Cosmo, I’ll talk about your online sex appeal and how to...

E-commerce Link : Keeping Up With the Joneses
Every company has marketing activities it performs exceptionally. For example, one marketer may have superior e-mail creative, while another may have mastered the use of triggered messaging. While we all strive for excellence, it’s a fact that we can’t shine...

Editor's Notes : My Favorite Web Sites
In the course of story research, I spend a good deal of time on the Web every day. During my online travels, I’ve come across some wonderful resources that keep me up-to-date on terminology, the current consumer ethos and even...

Nuts & Bolts - Case Study : Making Vegas.com the Odds-On Favorite
Vegas.com thought it had a slam dunk. But the travel services Web site headquartered minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip decided to make sure. So this year, the site chose to use direct marketing techniques to promote its sponsorship...

Nuts & Bolts - Eye on Privacy : How to Grow Your Privacy Team in a Down Economy
It may not be in their job descriptions, but your marketing, sales and business development folks are important parts of the privacy team. This is especially so when it comes to the complexities of dealing with partners and clients....

Nuts & Bolts - Social Media : 5 Tactics to Amplify Your Efforts
“If your company doesn’t have anything to talk about, then you need to work on it,” is the reply Steve Spangler gives to marketers who list no content as the reason why their firms don’t participate in social media. As...

Affiliate Spotlight
A monthly online feature for Target Marketing readers (also running bimonthly in Target Marketing magazine’s Nuts & Bolts department), Affiliate Spotlight introduces you to a variety of players on the affiliate marketing scene. Check back monthly for the lowdown from...

Famous Last Words : Make It Easy to Order!
"When in doubt, do the obvious,” said my first mentor in business, Franklin Watts. In 1993, my wife, Peggy, and I bought a Center City Philadelphia fixer-upper row house, which we gutted and turned into our dream pad. However, a...