I've always said that the most important thing that a business can do is to know more about its customers than its customers know about themselves. Unfortunately, too many companies make a common mistake - they assume that customers think about their companies. The customers don't. This cartoon, from Tom Fishburne, is a great illustration of just how myopic traditional marketers can be.
Companies that understand that customers think about themselves and their issues, instead of companies or offerings, have a critical advantage over those that don't.