E-coming of Age

I find e-mail's impact on me surprising, because less than five years ago, I'd delete any personal e-mail from just about any address I didn't recognize. But now, I find myself looking at a lot of promotional e-mail — and responding to it.

As a consumer, I find that one of the marketers doing the best job these days is 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. Having gotten me on its radar screen with a few previous purchases, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM doesn't overwhelm me with e-mails. It hits me with very specific offers that seem to provide just what I'm looking for — or not looking for. And when I'm not looking, the company's offers have been enticing enough to get my business.