Beware, the 9 Deadly Mistakes of Database Marketing

Amazon.com finds out what its customers are interested in, then offers it to them. “This is what the old corner grocer used to do,” Hughes said. “It’s a technique that goes back 6,000 years.”

Staples sends an e-mail 30 seconds after an order is placed. “Very important to get an e-mail out in 30 seconds,” he said. “We’re in a fast-moving world today. It was all right in the old direct mail days to wait a week, but today you don’t want to wait longer than 30 seconds. People know the world is moving much faster. If your software engineers tell you they can’t get it out in 30 seconds, get yourself other software engineers.”