You're challenged today because your consumers are overloaded with incoming information. Everywhere they go, and everywhere they look, they're being told or sold something. They've become defensive, cynical and unreceptive to advertising. But they still listen to advice from a trusted source and they still respond when they're acknowledged, understood and appreciated.

To overcome their cynicism you have to gain credibility. How? Advertising isn't enough. You need endorsements from neutral third parties. Get others to say good things about you. PR and good customer relations are the good ways to set this in motion.

Don't market by accident — have a plan. Making it up as you go along won't work. Your offer to benefit the consumer in some unique way must be clearly and consistently communicated over time. This requires that you plan your marketing and PR strategy.

It's not enough to just claim to be better, faster, or cheaper than the competition. Marketing takes place, not in the physical world, but in the mind. You're not working with reason and logic, you're dealing with intangibles and emotion.

The essence of great marketing is in anticipating and satisfying needs, capturing imaginations, winning hearts and building trust — one customer at a time.

A good product isn't enough. You need to know what motivates your market. Never assume you know. Always ask questions. Listen and learn about their needs, expectations and behaviors. Take the information to heart. It's critical to your success.

Sincere customer service is critical in your marketing plan. The quality of most products is good these days. This means the consumer can easily switch brands. The biggest reason companies lose customers today is over customer dissatisfaction and customer disservice. Every employee in your company should feel a part of the marketing department. Never allow them to take your customers for granted or think of them as a renewable resource. You need to work hard to keep every customer happy because they'd rather switch brands than fight you.

Frustrating customers with poor customer service negates your marketing efforts. Bad news travels fast — especially online.

Do you know what it costs you to generate each new customer? Add your annual marketing and advertising budget together, then divided it by the number of new customers. You can see that you invest a lot of money in each new customer. You can lose your investment for the cost of a mishandled phone call, an ignored or poorly worded e-mail, or an inappropriate facial expression. Customer service must be a priority of every employee and especially those that come in direct contact with the public.

Attentive customer service builds a good reputation and can be a significant force multiplier to your existing marketing and PR efforts. This is how small businesses take market share from the big ones.