When retail magnate John Wannamaker spoke these words in the late 19th Century, little did he know that many an advertiser in the 21st could say the exact same thing and not be far off the mark.

We get questions all the time about brand advertising and return on investment, as marketing officers around the globe are continually called to task in justifying or accounting for their budgets. We've seen clients actually lose brand equity when they decided not to advertise because of the lack of tangible ROI. But brand advertising is not designed by nature to generate sales—it is a means by which to create awareness, differentiation and consideration.

But marketing in the 21st Century is not about ROI anymore. It's about the return on customer, maximizing the lifetime relationship with an individual. It's about getting that one person who purchases your product once to purchase it again. Purchase it more often. Purchase new things. Over and over and over again until they become something more than a customer. They become an advocate for your brand.

But how do you do that through traditional advertising? Well, you can't. Does this mean that traditional means of advertising—television, print, radio—are worthless? No we're not saying that. Again, the value in traditional media (and many new forms of media) is in creating brand awareness. Let's face it. We're all consumers. Advertising in an inherently intrusive marketing tool. But it's 100 percent necessary because how would we know which brand of spaghetti sauce to buy at the store? We consider the ones that you have heard of most often, or those that have brand attributes that we prefer. And that is a function of brand advertising.

But let's think about marketing instead as a conversation, as opposed to a one-way stream of communication. But how is that possible? I can't talk back to my radio, or send signals to a billboard.

And that's where technology comes in.

During the 1990's everyone was obsessed with opening up an online store—e-commerce was it. And suddenly marketers realized something revolutionary. Consumers shopping and buying online were, without even knowing it, telling marketers everything they could ever dream of knowing about them. What they buy. When they buy. How much they buy. Everything! And for once, people realized that this time it was the customer communicating with the advertiser, not the other way around.

Data is a tremendously powerful tool that, if used properly, can create on-going, relevant communication, e.g., marketing, that people respond to. But data mining can be tricky, and it consists of three key elements: knowing what you want to know, creating a reason for your customers to tell you what you want to know and, finally, using that information to create meaningful messages.

In Tampa, Florida, for instance, there is a car dealership that sells multiple brands of near-luxury to high-end luxury imports. Every month, approximately 150 of the dealership's customers' leases expire. Using a cost-efficient technology called variable printing, prior to lease expiration they can mail each of these lessees a high-quality, four-color customized piece that includes the customer's name and current vehicle in the copy, while also showing four current models they may want to consider when their leases expire based on the make and price of their current vehicle. So a person who is currently leasing a BMW 3-Series, for instance, may be shown two higher-end 3 models and two entry-level 5 Series, while SUV lessees would have an altogether different collection of vehicles.

Beyond that, however, is a coupon for a free pre-lease term-end inspection. This is key on several levels. First, it's providing a value-added service—the dealer is actually becoming an advocate for the lessee. Second, it gets them on their campus, specifically to their parts department, which is another revenue center. Finally, it gets them on the lot where they can see hundreds of shiny new vehicles for them to consider. And the response rate is nearly 10-15 times higher than traditional direct mail.

Email is another cost-effective means commonly used by marketers to build loyalty and sales with their customers. You probably get an email from a restaurant, magazine or retailer regularly. Often these include promotional offers ("here's a coupon for your birthday", "it's national fishing month" or "buy two meals, get dessert for free on Mothers Day"). Some companies, however, are getting away from discounts and instead provide content that has nothing to do with sales. A sports equipment retailer, for instance, tracks its customers' online purchases and creates custom content automatically based on buying habits. For instance, Mr. Smith may regularly purchase fishing gear, and during peak season, he might get an email about 10 great spots to go fishing. His neighbor, Mr. Jones, may purchase tennis equipment and his email might be 10 ways to better your game.

Things like this do a lot more than sell products. They say to a person, "Hey, you! You're my customer and I don't just want to sell to you, I want you to be happy. I want you to enjoy what you buy from me! Now tell me what else would make you happy!" Now how much more does that make a brand stand out? And as time and technology continue to hurtle forward at greater and greater speed, new ways to personally touch people are already emerging—podcasts and text messaging are already coming into the mainstream—and will continue to evolve, along with more streamlined, automated means of evaluating a campaign's effectiveness.

But how do you start? Bear in mind, it takes an understanding of the fundamental value of data and people with the ability to harness it and implement a strategy that will ultimately lead to a successful relationship marketing effort. Like most initiatives, failure to lay a proper foundation will ultimately lead to its failure. And, in regard to email marketing, there are things like copy testing for spam content, white lists, black lists, opt-in/opt-out regulations and the Can-Spam Act that can also impact a campaign's success.

Relationship marketing is not simply something that's a passing trend. To compete and survive in the 21st century, it is a must do. It makes a statement about your brand, and allows you do imbue your brand with a specific, relevant personality. You can make people who barely even like you love you.

The technology is out there. It's not expensive. Reports and analyses can be done in real time. And people are responding. So reach out to your customers. Engage them. You'll be surprised about how willing they are to tell you what they want.

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James Dodd is the director of strategic planning at Dutcher.