If you increase customer retention just 5% more, your profits will increase 100%.

• U.S. population growth is projected to be 1.1% in the next twenty years.
• Disposable income in the US is growing only 2% every year.
• US businesses will invest more than $1 billion this year on computer technology, just for customer service departments.

The interesting bits of information above basically mean that the number of customers are dwindling. Which is why customer service is today's competitive advantage. If we don't have masses of potential customers, we'd better keep the ones we do have happy. Ecstatic.

Today's consumers can sometimes look like a threatening mob. They're often unhappy, make vague or irrational demands, and can rush in unexpected directions that strongly affect our livelihoods. They may suddenly take their business elsewhere or bombard us with time-consuming, expensive complaints. Even both.

Nothing can turn your audience or prospect off faster than using fat words when they're hungry for skinny ones. Or vice versa. I learned this exciting concept from Dr. David Palmer, a Silicon Valley negotiations expert. In his talks on negotiations, he describes "levels of abstraction." Unless you can match your message to the expectations of your audience, or talk at the same level at which they are listening you won't connect as well as you would like to. This is true whether your audience is one person or one thousand.

If you want your marketing to make money for you, focus on your customers' feelings and beliefs. Unless you can convince them that you understand them and their problems -- that you're empathetic -- they're probably not going to buy from you.

From my conversation with marketing/PR expert Gary Purece.

Successful marketing means that you identify prospective clients and position yourself in the market so they choose you over your competition. When I sit down with clients who want to position their marketing, I seek the answers to four basic questions.......