Real-Time Applications Answer Need for Speed  Over the past
year, retail marketers have been paraphrasing Tom Cruise's
character Maverick in "Top Gun" as they relay a common message:
"We have the need for speed."  For these companies, speed
translates into the need to develop a new database of their
customers' e-mail addresses, generate an e-mail or direct mail
contact with a customer the same day the customer makes a
purchase and produce a daily accounting of program response
rates.  In short, retailers have two options: Make incremental
improvements to existing processes using the data in their data
warehouses and marketing databases, or adopt emerging best
practices of leading retailers that are investing in technology-
driven applications that can truly open up the opportunity for
prompt customer communication.  Because new marketing technology
has been developed with the need for speed in mind, business
solutions that employ the ability to review individual customer
point-of-sale transactions and develop