Pamela Oldham

Can you sell to a customer who's taken his business elsewhere and regain his loyalty? Surprisingly, the answer is "yes." Companies have a 20% to 40% probability of successfully selling to lost customers, according to Austin, TX-based loyalty expert Jill Griffin, bestselling author of three books on customer loyalty including "Customer WinBack: How to Recapture Lost Customers - and Keep Them Loyal."

Is a blog website content or social media? The correct answer is 'both,' according to Bonnie Harris, founder of St. Paul, MN-based Wax Marketing. She chats with DirectConnect about creating high-quality social media content.

Hosting a conference for customers is an intriguing concept for many companies. DirectConnect chats with Michael Fisher, SVP of sales and marketing for the Americas at Alterian, about how companies can ensure their conferences keep customers returning again and again.

Catalogs can motivate consumers to visit retail websites more often and stay longer, and they can enable the retailer to build more personalized relationships, according to a study by comScore. DirectConnect caught up with Michelle Farabaugh, consulting partner with San Rafael, CA-based Lenser, to chat about creating catalogs.

St. David's Round Rock Medical Center was one of the first full-service community hospitals in Round Rock, TX, which is one of the nation's fastest growing cities. Yet, competition came with the area's dramatic population increases, with rivals all touting themselves as the 'best' of one medical specialty or another.

While chief marketing officer at Eastman Kodak, Jeffrey Hayzlett revolutionized the company's worldwide marketing operations and strategic direction, he now aims to do the same for other businesses. DirectConnect caught up with Hayzlett in between appearances for his national tour to promote his new book

The best agency-client relationships are built on a foundation of partnership and collaboration, according to Denise Williams, director of strategic marketing at Goodman Marketing Partners.

Reports from two studies show social media is not only growing in popularity among consumers but also attracting a sharply increasing share of marketing budget dollars.

Mark Amtower, partner at consultancy Amtower & Company, says all companies, no matter their size or what they sell, can add the US government to their client list and enjoy guaranteed revenue. His claim seems too good to be true. However, since 1985, Amtower's firm has helped thousands of companies — big and small — successfully navigate the business-to-government (b-to-g) market.

National Basketball Association franchise the Orlando Magic used an unusual mailer to stand out in consumers' mailboxes in a recent direct mail campaign.