5. Don’t let big data blind you from universal truths. That’s no doubt that the business intelligence that comes from epic crunching of endless numbers can yield unprecedented insights into behavior, patterns of consumption, and unexpected connections. Like more insomniacs in the Midwest wear more purple and are earlier technology adopters than those who are sleepless in Seattle.

But turning marketing into atoms and algorithms can only go so far. Great, enduring brands are based on universal truths, and the best marketers will combine the computational skills that divide, with the psychological insights that conquer.

6. Over-invest in customer service. Your 800 number is the front line of brand building. Yet I’m continually stunned by how little attention the critical world of customer service receives from senior management. And how much of that attention is spent on how to take costs out, how to get people off the phone faster, how to hide your number on your website so people won’t call.

Customer service needs to be reinvented for a world where consumers are demanding more, where comparisons happen in real time, where loyalty is fleeting and there’s diminishing friction in changing brands. Customer service is where social starts.

My proposal for 2013 is that every CEO and CMO spend an hour a week listening in on some of their customer service calls. The result would be eye-opening–and a revolution in customer service, I assure you.