Did you know that Google and Twitter have services to monitor what people are saying about your competitors in real-time? If someone complains about your them in a Tweet, blog post, review site, discussion forum, Facebook Page, or almost anywhere else on-line, Google and Twitter will notify you. These services are free and take just a few minutes to configure.
You can get started at www.Google.com/alerts and www.Twitter.com/search.
It reminds me of an old joke about two guys hiking in the woods. They come upon and startle a bear. That’s what you’re not supposed to do. If you hike in bear country as I sometimes do, for example at Glacier National Monument in Montana, be noisy – it scares away the bears as they’re not interested in human confrontation. Anyway, these guys didn’t do that so the one guy 
gingerly removes his backpack and pulls out his running shoes. The other guy looks at him and says, “You can’t outrun a bear.” To which the first guy replies, “Oh… I don’t have to. I only have to outrun… you!
Google Alerts and Twitter Search are your running shoes relative to your competition. The services will notify you anytime someone mentions them. Monitor these mentions for complaints and problems, and then select your lucky salesperson of the day to reach out to each new prospect.
Your lucky salesperson is likely to hear something to the effect of, “I’m so glad you that called today. It’s almost like you have ESP.” Indeed, you’ve contacted them in the exact moment of dissatisfaction, when they are most open to potential change.