Your business is constantly being challenged by its competition. In today's economy, winning new customers and keeping old ones is more important than ever.

Marketing expert Kim T. Gordon claims that you must meet customer needs in these five areas to outshine your competition:

• Price: It's essential to meet or beat the competition's pricing on selected front-line products and services. Then you can provide bundled services or additional products at more profitable price points.
• Added value: Evaluate what your unique customers need in this recession-era economy and create a special incentive that will motivate them to take action.
• Convenience: Re-evaluate hours of operation, streamline the checkout process, and offer customer service via e-mail and by phone for shoppers who want immediate answers.
• Trust: Customers are careful to spend their limited dollars wisely and are scrutinizing each purchase to make sure they're making a "safe" decision. They want to buy from companies they trust and believe in.
• Conscience: Increasingly, consumers want to know you're a good corporate citizen. Businesses with a conscience care for their communities, others who are less fortunate and the world around them.

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