Gyro Worldwide in Philadelphia, for instance, largely aims at consumers aged 21 to 34 as it pursues customers for brands like Puma, but the consumers' sensibility is the most important element in its campaigns, said Steven Grasse, Gyro's chief executive.
In many cases, though, internet-based businesses pursue customer growth ahead of profits.
"We're reserving our right to pursue customers for payment," Ms. Schulz said.
This year, it is promoting sales of the less expensive black-and-white e-reading devices and pursuing customers who are heavy readers.
For the most part, the formula works to the benefit of all — people searching for information, advertisers pursuing customers online, and Web publishers seeking ad dollars.
British Gas are ruthless in pursuing customers in debt, trying to get blood out of a stone," said a spokeswoman for the Fuel Poverty Action group.
So-called diversity marketing -- pursuing customers based on differentiations like race, language preference, sexual orientation and age -- has become a lucrative strategy for mainstream advertisers.
A Google spokesman released a statement saying that small businesses can compete by making their ads more relevant to consumers and that they should use multiple strategies to pursue customers: "search, social media, earned media and more".
There is an excellent cocktail named for the character Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles) and a number of the wines are Austrian, but there is no Joseph Cotten look-alike pursuing customers to settle their tabs, and no zither music (great in the movie but not quite right at the cocktail hour).
PeoplePC will become its brand for pursuing customers who want low-cost Internet access (PeoplePC's basic rate is $15.95 a month for individuals; EarthLink's is $21.95).. PeoplePC will also give EarthLink another channel through which to reach companies and big groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which recently chose PeoplePC to set up an Internet package for its members.
