Are you a problem solver?

Customers have problems. They surf the internet to find solutions to those problems. Got a weed problem in your garden? Search online for solutions and advice, feel better, solve the problem.

Don't know where to go for debt advice? Find it online, feel better, solve the problem.

That is the nature of the Internet and it is also the nature of a successful business. Anyone who is doing well in business is out there solving problems on a daily basis. It is what they do.

Now I know there are a number of problem solvers out there, and some companies even have their market pretty much sewn up. But there is a way to dig deeper into the psyche of your client base and find out what is, in a sense, really troubling them.

You do this by finding out where they are online. Get to know your customers by going online and finding out where you can locate blogs and discussion groups that are peopled by the type of person who buys your product, and then listen.

If someone complains about the fact that X company does not offer a guarantee for this particular aspect of their service, then do it, offer it.

Search the blogosphere, the discussion forums, and look for the small things that tell you that people are dissatisfied. Customers don't always stay the same. They may want something new, or at least the promise of it. The more you get involved in the online customer talk, the more you will be able to turn up and say 'I know what you want, I know what the problem is, and I have the solution.'

By doing this you build the connection between you and your customers, and you then start scoring points in the marketplace, because you can solve their problems.