One of the most effective ways to secure good information is to establish a focus group. This group provides you with face-to-face contact (or ear-to-ear if you use a phone conference) and critical input. The group can shift members, but regular meetings should be held in order to stay informed about customer needs and views.

If we all had our way, our customers would do our marketing for us by telling their friends about us and our services or products. Well, why not encourage “word of mouth” action? Ask for it and encourage it with thank you gifts. Sponsor a community or school event that will result in “fame.” And, last, but far from least, hold training sessions (related, of course, to your product or service) to remind the world that you not only exist but care for your customers and want to help them succeed.

I doubt if there is anyone in business who hasn’t been told to study the competition and do it one better. But because public speaking is so frightening to many people, if they were once told to speak or write on topics that mesh with client needs, many probably tuned out the suggestion. So, I’ll make it again – get known as an expert – after all you are one – speak at local, state, and national events and write articles that you trade for ad space.

You’ve probably already figured out my next point – build brand recognition through repetition. Consistency is vital, so it is important to let your customers hear from you on a regular basis, but make certain that what you send out has value to them.

Saturn has built its brand recognition in a number of ways, but when you ask people about the company, one of the first you hear is how good the follow-up is. Take a page out their book – remember successful marketing requires three key things: an excellent product, outstanding service, and follow-up.

One thing that Saturn has done is make it easy for the customers to deal with them. This is important to remember and emulate. You need enough phone lines – there is a growing irritation among consumers about the number of times that they hear, “Your business is important to us,” and then find themselves on hold for an inordinately long period of time. It is also important make certain that ALL calls are returned promptly and that phones are answered on the 2nd or 3rd ring. If you answer on the first, the caller will not have heard the ring, and after the third ring, he/she thinks you have gone out of business. It is also annoying to customers to find themselves in what I call the "telephone loop" where they are instructed to push one, push two, push three and then eventually they get voice mail anyway.