Over at 1to1.com, Peppers & Rogers take issue with a NY Times writer who implied that all the new information we can get about customers hasn’t changed the way businesses operate…

Response to NY Times: Customer Relationships Have Changed.

The customer is still the foundation of business, certainly. But technology-facilitated customer insight has now become the indispensable cement of that foundation, and the result is a revolution for business every bit as important as the invention of the assembly line. According to a new report from research company CSC more than 71 percent of companies surveyed have developed a process to identify their most valuable customers, most profitable customers and/or the lifetime value of those customers. The same survey shows that 62 percent of all companies group their customers by demographic or behavioral criteria.

I even agree with them from a customer point of view. I want to use suppliers that remember my preferences and treat me like an individual. And that requires they invest in the information technology required to ‘remember.’ Good technology is now a requirement for being a good marketer.