Technological advancements and social challenges for one-to-one marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of advancements in technology on the practice of one to one marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the results of analysis of reported advancements in information technology, social media, and their effects in identifying consumer preferences and consumer identity. Findings – The proliferation of social media, online communities and mobile communication have generated amounts of consumer data of interest to marketers. Simultaneously, technology to collect and analyze the data have improved greatly. The result is insight into the preferences of individual consumers and the ability to implement one-to-one marketing with unprecedented effectiveness. However, countervailing forces exist that attempt to limit the use of that consumer data. Research limitations/implications – One limitation is the reliance on published sources of technological advances. While the information seems representative of state of the art practiced in industry, unpublished, proprietary technology may exist that might re-characterize the potential for information exploitation. Practical implications – Marketers now have many information sources and analytical tools to implement the one-to-one marketing concept and can do so with a higher degree of effectiveness than previously. Originality/value – To date, few, if any, academic studies have been done that link technology, one-to-one marketing and the resistance to incursions on consumer privacy.