• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 8, 2005

A new survey report by Harte-Hanks, Inc. and CSO Insights, Inc., reveals that more than one in five organizations spend more than 45 percent of their entire marketing budgets on "target marketing," and an additional two in five spend between 15 percent and 45 percent on such activity.

According to the 2005 Executive Report: Target Marketing Priorities Analysis, nearly three of four companies plan higher investments in database management this year; three in five companies are planning to spend more on e-mail, Web design and data quality initiatives; and more than one in two on search marketing.

"Database and interactive marketing lead all categories in new marketing investments," said Richard Hochhauser, president and chief executive officer, Harte-Hanks, Inc. "Web sites and e-mail, in particular, really show strength. Yet struggles with data quality and data management remain pervasive."

According to the respondents:

• 43 percent have a regular or constant program to support personalization and one-to-one marketing
• 33 percent feel they are "good" or "very good" at calculating customer profitability (just 12 percent rate themselves "very good")
• more than a third rate their database management as "poor" or "very poor"
• 53 percent believe that their own customer data are at least 75 percent accurate
• 40 percent believe that less than half their prospect data are correct.
• 58 percent have an informal or no process at all for direct marketing planning, while 42 percent do

Among respondents, Web sites and micro-sites, search optimization and e-mail marketing are described as "mission critical" by 53 percent, 43 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Wireless messaging and blogs still have not "broken through" - just 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, rate these interactive media as "mission critical."           

Data security and privacy were the two biggest areas of concern cited by marketers. Sixty percent of marketers are very concerned or extremely concerned about data security, and 59% were very or extremely concerned about ensuring privacy to end users.

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