Journal of Interactive Marketing

Customer lifetime value (LTV) is an important construct in designing and budgeting for customer acquisition programs and a number of other decision areas. This article adapts a simple taxonomy of buyer-seller relationships to distinguish basic approaches for LTV estimation.

The future of direct marketing receives much attention in trade journals and discussions at direct marketing conferences, yet its “future” remains as vague as ever. This article identifies and examines the major problems, issues, and misconceptions that need to be overcome and provides both principles and specific examples of what should be done to launch direct marketing into the next generation—including a new name that will be needed to describe the enhanced discipline.

Emerging communications technologies, especially those which allow manufacturers to deal directly with ultimate consumers, are likely to have a major impact on traditional distribution channels. Given that there are certain functions which must be performed in the marketing process, the emerging communications technologies may encourage the shifting of some functions back to manufacturers and others forward to consumers. Such shifts may lead to less need for certain middlemen and an expansion of direct marketing activities by some manufacturers. Recommendations are proposed for ways in which channel members might respond to such changes.

Computers may be a good tool to help direct marketing educators better prepare students for the “real world.” Are they readily available and being used for this purpose? A survey of professors who have taught direct marketing shows that most have personal computers (and/or terminals) in their offices and that their students have good access to computers. Yet, the majority (82 percent) have not used computer exercises or demonstrations in their direct marketing classes. Those who have used computers with these courses have used them in a broad spectrum of topic areas and rate the educational value quite highly.