Identifying and Assessing Fundamental Competencies of Direct and Interactive Marketing

A paradigm shift has occurred in marketing, fueled by the growth of Internet and database technologies. The purpose of this study is to (1) identify the fundamental competencies needed by those entering the changing field of marketing, and (2) develop a standardized examination to measure these competencies. This work discusses the results of a comprehensive examination administered to 114 students at a large university with a Direct and Interactive marketing program. The data indicates that certain basic competencies can be identified and tested, including: email, ROI, retention, and CRM, but more advanced techniques of customer life value metric and opt-in/ opt-out strategies were found to be pivotal.