Data and direct marketing have become commodity products – but will CRM head the same way? Simon Davis of MarketDeveloper argues the case for its potential saviour: Permission Based Marketing.

It seems a crying shame, but the direct marketing industry has lost the plot. What should have been the twin driving forces of the future of marketing – good data allied to sound pinpoint Customer Relationship Marketing – have failed to live up to their initial promise.

1. What is your current job title/position? What other positions have you held throughout your career and how did you get started in the Customer Management industry?

I am Managing Director of MarketDeveloper Ltd and my current position is trying to avoid getting legged over by suppliers, customers, the competition, the government et al. I’ve held many positions in a number of businesses in my career and they all add up to much the same except some positions are more supine than others. I got started in Customer Management by mistake – I thought I was running a software house back in 1995 and it took me 4 years to realise that I wasn’t.

MarketDeveloperLtd is thrilled to announce that we have started a blog. It will cover technical, demo and sales aspects of MarketDeveloper’s hosted application, general thoughts about the CRM industry, articles about Customer Relationship Management and the people who use CRM technology.
 
We will also be using the blog to make announcements about articles and White Papers written by ourselves, or other organisations, that you may find interesting, amusing or educational.
 
You are invited to comment upon any item posted here and participate in the discussion about all aspects of hosted CRM in the UK partner community. We look forward to “seeing” you here from time-to-time, either as an anonymous guest visitor or when you have something to say.
 
Please come back and pay us a visit soon.