Outlets, online, direct marketing, coupons and Groupon can all give a retailer a sense of excitement.

FORBES: 5 Critical Retail Attributes as Identified by Consumers

Working with Omnicom agency BBDO, New York, Motorola Solutions will tap trade- and b2b-focused print, online and direct marketing to get its message out.

FORBES: Motorola "Rises To The Moment" In New B2B Campaign

Hidalgo's team takes a surgical approach to direct marketing--and that means nonstop testing, online and off, of every message that customers see.

FORBES: Entrepreneurs

He insists that he can reignite online retailing, using Buy.com as the hub of a web-based direct-marketing force.

FORBES: The Death and Life of Buy.com

There are apps for webinars and virtual events, managing and appending your database, pushing out messages to our cell phones, running online communities, finding out what people are saying about our brands in social media, marketing with video, online polls and surveys, finding the influencers in our markets, and even initiating direct mail campaigns.

FORBES: Business Apps: What We Have Is A Failure To Communicate