However, potential customers won’t take your word for it – and they’ll get the real story. Compare based on the customer’s perceptions of an equal solution, not your own : Focus on what the customer needs to meet their objectives. If your product is perceived as more expensive and at the same time is perceived as offering more than the customer needs, then a less capable, lower price product is a real threat. If, however, the customer values the complete solution you’ve created, then the lower price competitor may be (correctly) viewed as significantly less valuable. MORE >>

By monitoring your own customers, you know how much misinformation exists on the Web. By obtaining a real-time window into issues and problems facing your competitors, you have the opportunity to proactively respond with timely messaging or programs targeting the customers or products affected and capitalizing on the specific problem. You probably already talk to your customers about how to improve your products. Yes, I’m talking about social media. Savvy organizations have long used competitive intelligence (CI) to understand their competitors’ strategies. That’s good. MORE >>

Individuals are now taking on personal branding, and as every digital marketer knows - your customers are now their own publishers, and they have their own personal networks - and they are syndicated. Online audiences are already seeking out personalization with customized home-pages, Twitter lists, bookmarked and tagged websites, RSS readers etc. As we rapidly approach 2010, it’s hard not to consider the implications of social media’s banner year: 2009. Here is a quick snapshot of the trends: Social media begins to looks less social. Corporations look to scale. MORE >>

If you are new to social media marketing an audit will give you feedback on what your competitors are doing and how your customers are engaging in social media. What’s the most effective way to engage with partners and customers? What is a social media audit and why should you implement - on at least an annual basis? social media audit is an examination of multiple factors of a social media marketing strategy implementation. The goal of the audit is to look inside and out to see if you can make adjustments and improvements in the effort to optimize your results. Interactive MORE >>

Are you utilizing social media marketing to its full potential when it comes to custom content sharing? This article provides a good example of how B2B organizations should share custom content across their websites and all social properties to help drive traffic and leads. Read the full article here. Interactive Lead Management MORE >>