Interactive, direct and digital marketing : A future that depends on better use of business intelligence

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explain how the management of the two areas business intelligence (BI) and customer insight (CI) needs to be brought together to support a company's interactive marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on the author's work in consultancy and in assessing client company's customer management capabilities and performance, as well as a review of some of the literature on BI and CI. Findings – The article suggests that companies need to pay close attention to the governance of BI, as a self-service approach to BI becomes increasingly used by CI teams. Research limitations/implications – The review of literature carried out by the authors suggests that the interface between BI and CI is poorly researched and would benefit from a significant research effort. Originality/value – The focus on the interface between BI and CI is relatively new. The authors hope that it will trigger significant research.