The other day my wife was describing an after-hours event a local boutique was hosting - a trunk show with a visiting designer. She'd heard about the event through an email from the store, but when she arrived, instead of a mass of every shopper that had ever set foot in the store, it was an intimate group of VIPs in attendance. The boutique had communicated with its clientele who were not only loyal, but who'd indicated they'd like to be invited to such exclusive events. That....