Not surprisingly, primary research conducted for the study showed that new media-related revenues constitute less than 2 percent of total revenues for most marketers. In short, new media technologies are currently in their preliminary stages of trial and acceptance primarily by those early adopters who have to be the first with the latest. New media are emerging commercial realities today. Major marketers are experimenting with and using new media technologies such as CD-ROM, the World Wide Web and commercial online services. Nearly 80 percent of the marketers surveyed are using some form of new media for sales and marketing applications, including companies of all sizes and across all industries.
New media create discontinuities.
The increased availability of customer information coupled with new media technologies have created an environment of discontinuity, whereby new marketing opportunities are created at an ever-increasing pace. New media can also accelerate the time frames of marketing activities, particularly direct marketing. Processes that required weeks to months can be collapsed to days and hours. This has implications for the staffing and management of critical functions, including product sourcing, order processing, customer service and promotion analysis. New media stress back-end delivery and inventory management skills.