ORLANDO–Having just one NCDM conference is drawing people from more vertical markets, vendors said yesterday. The conversations are also very needs based.
“People are here to find a solution to meet a very tangible, very specific need,” Christopher Hamlin, vice president of database marketing solutions at Customer Communications Group Inc., Denver, said yesterday. “I am sensing people have a genuine interest in database marketing and in learning about what we have to offer.”
Hamlin said he has had good conversations with prospects from industries such as “telco, travel, leisure, retail and financial services.”
Another trend: Attendees are approaching this NCDM from both a technology and marketing perspective. For years, vendors have discussed the importance of achieving buy-in for their programs from both of these departments.
“In several cases, I've seen an IT person and a marketing person here from the same company, walking the floor together or attending sessions together. I haven't really seen this before,” said Mike Savage, vice president of marketing at Merkle Inc., Lanham, MD. “This signals to me that to that companies are really starting to get it.”
Jennifer Cooley, vice president at Chicago-based Analytic Innovations LLC, a provider of data-driven marketing solutions, said she is pleased with the show, too.
“So far, we've had some great conversations and received some good leads,” she said.
