The Customer Loyalty Solution

This is for sure a good and well organised Database Marketing DBM textbook. I like "What works", "What doesnt work" and "Quiz (with answers)" in the end of each chapter much. However, I think it can be even better if the author can add more real life examples to support his key points of the book, as summarized in the last chapter:- 1. DBM is not the same as CRM. 2. DBM is incremental 3. The internet has enabled DBM to deliver on its promises 4. The Web is not a selling medium; it is an ordering medium. 5. People like communications 6. Everthing in DBM can and should be measured. 7. Lifetime Value is the key measurement technique for DBM. 8. DBM is not about discounts. 9. Customers should not all be treated alike. 10. Most successful database marketers outsource the construction of their database. 11. Caller ID and cookies have become essential database marketing tools. 12. Many customers will gladly give you their profiles over the web. 13. Marketing databases today are stored in a relational format on a server accessed by marketers over the web. 14. Becoming customer centric is seldom an achievable goal. Despite my praise above, I can hardly agree with the author's projection of DBM as a surefire independent tool to distiguish it from the notorious CRM. IMHO, the high failure rate of CRM is owing to the absence of good business+customer strategies, and the ignorance of top executives who believe that putting tons of money on software and servers will make CRM work. No matter what and in short, this book deserves to be recommended.