International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue IX, September 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

Database Marketing – Definition and Application of the Concept 

 Kwesi Atta Sakyi
Head of Research, ZCAS University, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract: A database is a collection of information on a set of variables of interest on a specific topic. Database marketing has become relevant and practical due to great advances in ICT and also because of globalization which has led to the convergence and integration of global markets, The objective of this paper is to explore the meaning and application of database marketing. The methodology used is that of a qualitative approach which is based on relying on secondary data and reviewing it by using the author’s insights gained he was recently pursuing an online MBA programme. The author hopes this paper will be useful to both researchers and students of marketing.

Keywords: database marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), customer retention, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), data warehousing, data mining, online transactions, e-money, convergence

I. INTRODUCTION

Database marketing is symptomatic of the information age as the world has shrunk to become a global village with the convergence of global tastes as well as global practices, technologies, and consumer preferences. Convergence is achieved by having ICT technologies which operate on different platforms from different media but which give access to the same information on different appliances and gadgets such as tablets, smartphones, desktops, laptops, among others (Brassington & Petit, 2006; Kotler, 2006; Kotler & Armstrong, 2017).
The use of barcodes, credit and debit cards and other plastic money in shops help to capture data on consumers and clients and store these data in databases or repositories which are networked with other partners. According to kbmanage.com (Online), direct marketing has become the norm in modern marketing and its efficacy depends on the amount and quality of customers’ data which is held in databases, and how that data is managed to reduce customer churn, retain customers and to add more value for both the firm and the valued customer. In the era of the internet, we find born global businesses being set up by technologically-savvy technopreneurs who become instant billionaires through their virtual businesses and social media networks.