If you're not happy with your IM efforts, what can be done to improve your situation? Several things are to improve your offer or revamp your marketing plan. The situation with traditional means of marketing often involve significant investing or have geographical constraints. Not so with IM, and what's more you can make a lot of money, too.

Effective marketing can mean the difference between business success and failure – no matter how large or small the organization. Small businesses, however, often face added challenges – from balancing both the cost and time it takes to assemble and execute a successful campaign with limited resource pools, to the implications of legislation such as the Do Not Call Registry that govern how organizations outreach to their customers.

Social media is the hottest topic in online marketing today. Companies that know how to utilize this form of media are using it to great effect in their online campaigns and optimization strategies. Companies that aren’t in-the- know understand that they will need to figure things out and incorporate its use into their mix sooner or later if they want to stay in the game. It is the great e-Commerce dream of the 21’st century- where there’s potentially a pot of gold hidden in every Facebook page. However, to tap into that pot of gold, it requires careful planning, dedication and creativity to capture the imagination of the audience. In other words it has to be really, really good!

In the world of luxury retailing, the personal touch has always been touted as the best way to handle affluent customers. Just ask Holt Renfrew, Canada’s leading luxury retailer. For years, Holts has sent personalized direct mail regularly to some of its best customers, always tailored to their previous purchases and preferences for the finer things. But when Holts wanted to attract new customers for its fine jewellery, it decided to forego the kidglove treatment and instead turned to an unconventional approach: unaddressed mail to targeted postal walks. And the results proved surprising.