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Customers are savvier and more demanding than ever. Competition is increasing and competitive advantage is fleeting. Once-strong relationships have weakened, and customers faced with an exploding array of choices are easily swayed by competitive offerings at lower prices. How can you possibly stay ahead of this juggernaut? The answer lies in a clear and concise customer strategy, led by a Chief Customer Officer.

Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Ranked as the world's pre-eminent marketing thinker, he is the author of Marketing Management, the world's leading textbook in teaching marketing to MBAs, and 35 other books. In this commentary, he offers insights about the marketing challenges in coping with the global economic meltdown.

Consumers are still reeling from a cascade of financial and business catastrophes that began during the last quarter of 2008. As job cuts burgeon, consumers around the world are realizing that there is more bad news ahead, and that makes them even more reluctant to spend their money on anything but the absolute bare essentials. The fear that has gripped so many consumers could drive two mega trends, both of which must be confronted by marketing executives.

Planning is an essential part of any business activity. However, business plans require objectives that are based on sales targets, which in turn require demand forecasts. Thus, forecasting is essential for planning. In addition, forecasts serve as input to many other business decisions. Obviously, these decisions can be only as good as the forecast results used to make them.

Our sense of sound, sight, smell, and touch have a powerful effect on us, and psychological research is just beginning to explain some of the physical, cognitive, social and emotional effects. Sensory stimuli can influence environments, improve the shopper experience and change the nature of behaviour in ways beyond our consciousness. People perceive the world through all their senses simultaneously, so the more sensory an experience, the more engaging it will be.