Know thy customer… and don’t mess up with him - even less in the Web 2.0 era, in which news spreads like wildfire and disgruntled customers can very quickly come together and turn into a virtual lynching mob against you. In this era, serious, organized, massive boycotts can happen, and can be triggered in a matter of days, if not hours, should consumers are outraged enough. It is a real threat, so companies cannot afford to fail in understanding their customers and taking them seriously.

Case in point: Intuit (INTU), the developer of the –until now - leading tax preparation software, Turbo Tax. Over the years, Intuit has been building a growing and profitable franchise of loyal Turbo Tax users who year after year would buy its new version at tax time. This has been a major undertaking for Intuit: most taxpayers are still skittish about leaving something as important as preparing their tax returns to a software application and are simply not comfortable working on something of this perceived complexity on their own computers. Nope. When dealing with the IRS, most still want to make sure an expert takes care of it and want to see a solid, tangible, black-and-white packet safely shipped to Uncle Sam in a totally certified, absolutely delivery-confirmed, personally-mailed-from-the-post-office parcel.

"From Your Desk Drawer to Delicious - in 90 Seconds. People on the go expect more from their meals. You want it fast, you want it tasty and you want the convenience of packaging that lets you eat without disrupting your busy schedule."

Hormel Foods (HRL) got that right! I discovered Hormel's line of Compleats microwave meals while wandering in the supermarket a few days ago. I was very excited with the line. As reiterated in one of my last posts, "May you leave in interesting times", you can bump into interesting investment opportunities by just paying attention to what you see while doing your personal shopping.

Amidst jittery financial markets and government bailouts, the average Joe is still facing tough economic times and looking for ways to save money. In continuing with the discussion initiated in my post “May you live in interesting times”, we are looking for the companies that are building on the opportunities presented by the economic crisis to attract savings-conscious customers.

In the competitive and very profitable auto insurance arena, one insurance company stands out: Progressive Corp. (PGR). I am quite impressed with Progressive’s marketing strategy:

This has been a scary week indeed! It is in situations like this one that common investors like you and me tend to freeze and really don't know what to do. Most of your investments are in deep red and you wonder whether to sell and cut your losses or just weather the storm and hope for better times. Anyway, how much lower can they go? Most likely, you asked yourself that same question a few months ago – heck, a few weeks ago! – and as it seems, they could go much, much lower.

Jim Cramer likes to repeat this phrase that makes much sense in these times: nobody has ever made a penny by panicking. And what we are seeing this week is just that: sheer panic. A very justifiable panic perhaps, but panic nonetheless. What I love about these times is that the market throws the babies out with the bathwater. And I am seeing stocks that have reached prices that make no sense. Let's be clear, though: I am not saying that we've reached a bottom and that even those stocks could not go lower. Even though I'd really love to be wrong, I think there is still pain ahead of us. I wouldn't be surprised anymore if we revisited a Dow 10,000. But then, we have to look around: oil prices falling, commodity prices falling, an election coming soon, and finally some consolidation in the financial sector. Weren't high oil and commodities prices driving potential inflation and a squeeze in margins across the economy in the first place?

In the current economic situation, it was to be expected for Wal-Mart (WMT) to thrive. It has always offered the lowest prices in groceries and other basic goods. Yet, in the good times, many consumers would refuse to shop at Wal-Mart for issues ranging from convenience all the way to, very simply, status. In the face of rising prices and economic uncertainty, those issues are mostly gone for a good chunk of the population. Consumers will do whatever is necessary to stretch their paychecks. Consequently, Wal-Mart has been able to report sales growth quarter after quarter for over a year now. With it, we've also seen its stock price increase nicely, from the low 40's back in October 2007 to $63 last week.

Now, this growth has not happened just out of inertia. Wal-Mart has been very conscious of the opportunity the economic downturn represented for the company. As a result, it very purposefully refocused its marketing efforts to attract a wider range for middle- and upper-middle-class embattled consumers by positioning itself as the best alternative to preserve the lifestyle they are clinging to.

Wireless must be the one of the most dynamic markets you could find. It is unique because success really depends on perfectly combining the strengths of the participants in two different yet intimately related industries: the carriers and the cell phone makers. Their destinies are irremediably intertwined. Consumers drool over having the latest almighty gadget that allows them to not only make phone calls (talking is so yesterday!), but most importantly, remain plugged into the world through text messaging, picture taking, internet access, TV on the go and all sort of cool functions.

This is the realm of the so called smartphones. They really are command centers for the life on the move. Yet, the gadget is only half of the story. In order to be able to actually enjoy all those neat functions, consumers also have to select a carrier that provides all the services needed to get their cool devices going. They soon find out the having a sophisticated command center does not come cheap. The cooler the gadget, the more functions it has, the more services are needed from a wireless carrier in order to take full advantage of it.

One of the most competitive spaces right now must be the online brokerage business. It is to be expected: it is an industry with relatively low barriers for entry and a huge potential market. As the stock market is democratized by the power of the Internet and its abundance of quality information, the need for full-service brokers is dwindling.

This is not new, and the process has been going on for years now. Yet, full-service brokers still have significant number of customers who the online brokers are constantly vying for. Likewise, new generations of would-be investors join the mass of potential customers each year as thousands of young professionals with an independent, entrepreneurial mindset enter the job market and need to decide how to invest their newly acquired disposable income.

Everyone is jumping into the Green trend. Not everyone is doing it right though. Adopting ecologically friendly initiatives cannot be just a marketing plot. This is what is called “greenwashing” and consumers see right through it. A company needs to be sincere in its approach. It is a fundamental component of the authenticity consumers are looking for in their dealings with a company.

For a Green initiative to be successful -and therefore interesting as an investment opportunity-, we need to look for three key components: a) integrity; b) performance; and c) affordability. Let’s discuss these requirements: