You are no longer in control. The balance of power has shifted.

Your company's brand is a relationship with your customers, and the nature of that relationship has changed. Once, advertisers controlled all the channels of communication because they paid for them. Now that Social Media and the internet gives everybody their own communication channels, other people have a say in your brand and what it means to them.

Are you trying to control what your customers hear, think and say about your brand like a jealous boyfriend? Well, the object of your desire has been liberated and she feels free to to explore other relationships. How can you make things interesting so she'll want to stick around?

One way is to listen better, and communicate better.

That's the power of social media. If you thought, 'oh boy, a new media channel to get my message out, and sell more', you missed the point. Nobody wants to be sold to more. But if you think of it as a new way to find out what your customers need, and serve them better, it takes on a new meaning. By informing and serving a community within social media channels, you've got the chance to demonstrate your ability to fulfill its needs. Which paradoxically can help you find more customers.

It's all about attitude

If you're confused and unsure about what to do in this new paradigm, one simple phrase can guide your program: 'How can I be of service to you?' If that attitude permeates all of your marketing activities, you can't go far wrong, even if you don't know the difference between Facebook , Twitter and MySpace. Delighting and amazing your customers is how you can take it to the next level. But those are just fancier versions of 'How can I be of service to you?'. How simple is that? Take that approach in everything you do and say in your marketing, and life will be less complicated.

There's another side benefit to being as helpful as you can to the citizens of online channels. They will be more predisposed to feel good about your offline marketing, thus making it more effective.

Also, don't forget: How can I be of service, version 1.0.

The single most effective tool ever invented for building successful companies—a unique brand promise—is still the most effective. Can you articulate what you stand for and what makes you different in the way you serve your customers? In a study by Brand Keys, cited by Jack Trout in his book ‘In Search of the Obvious’, fewer than 23% of major consumer companies had any distinguishable differentiating trait that consumers could identify. That number may be even lower in many B2B niches. What does this mean for you? It means you have an opportunity staring you in the face to show customers how you can be of service to them in a way that nobody else is.

1. It makes their business better able to compete in a shrinking market.

2. It allows them to do something in-house that formerly needed to be outsourced.

3. It helps make their employees more productive and efficient.

4. It allows them to put off the purchase of expensive equipment by extending the life of what they already have.

5. It helps them get more customers, or increase the loyalty of their existing customers.

6. It allows them to offer a new product or service, thereby giving them a new stream of income.

7. It allows them to take advantage of a big opportunity that only comes along in times like these.

8. It raises their level of morale and makes them feel better about their lives.

9. It educates them so they can get ahead when times are better.

10. It helps them stand out from their competitors.

This is just a sampling of the ways you can respond to your customer's needs right now. It's really a mindset as much as anything else. How are you positioning your products and services to be relevant in today's market?