TABLE OF CONTENTS The world of sales and marketing is constantly changing. The internet, e-commerce, the continuing rise of direct marketing and the increasing marketing emphasis on customer retention over customer acquisition are only a few of the salient factors affecting the way firms carry out business in the modern world. Firms have to move fast, keep up with the latest developments and trends and invest in the most relevant software and systems to stay ahead of competition. Business in general, and marketing in particular, have become more and more affected by, and dependent upon, technology. Technological progress itself is changing and accelerating at an exponential rate. Not since the Industrial Revolution has the marketing firm been affected so much by changes in the technological environment. Firms that are not fully aware of technological advances and developments will fall behind in the commercial race as this huge step change in the way marketing firms do business. Marketing is all about staying ahead of the competition. This in turn means that the marketer must also have skills to use the new technologies of today and tomorrow to assist the marketing process. Similarly, those organisations whose management and marketers are unaware of, or unable to, use advances in technology will become increasingly uncompetitive. The marketing manager of the future will need an understanding of the use of technology within the discipline and be able to appreciate how they can factor in the use of new technology into all aspects of their marketing plans...
