Drivers in the adoption and sophistication of database marketing in the services sector

Database Marketing has emerged as the technological means of achieving competitive advantage through the development and retention of customer relationships, but not all companies in the services sector have been successful in moving beyond operational benefits to strategic use. This article presents key empirical findings on the relationship between the degree of both marketing and information orientation within an organisation and the use and sophistication of Database Marketing. The use of a cross industry sample of four UK industries namely; the financial services industry, the retail industry, the travel industry and the performing arts industry provides generalisable insights into how firms can make the most out of their Database Marketing investments. Our findings suggest that a marketing orientation is important to the adoption and sophistication of Database Marketing applications, but only in so far as it is not already developed in the industry. It is information orientation that is critical, particularly in developing sophistication. Once using Database Marketing, those service organisations with the greatest level of information orientation will be best placed to develop fully the strategic aspects of Database Marketing.