Earlier, I’ve written about the bad reputation marketing has build up. As marketing guru Kotler states in Marketing 3.0, ”marketing is seen as selling, the art of seduction and manipulation”. By misleading people into tricky deals and giving brighter views of reality, marketing is partly responsible for people to have lost faith in businesses. Nowadays, people rather listen to their peers (which of course is facilitated by social media). What are you going to do? Will you just scream louder and hope they will hear you? Or will you try to understand how your consumers will be willing to hear your messages?

According to Kotler, consumers will value three 3.0 concepts in which horizontal communication are the basics: co-creation, community-building and character-building. I will shortly illustrate these three concepts.

1. Co-creation

Instead of thinking about concepts solely, you enable consumers to participate in your innovations. Let consumers help you build products according to their wishes and benefit from their feedback. The major crisps brand Lay’s was succesful in 2010 with a contest, in which consumers could submit their ideas for a new flavour. Thousands and thousands people joined this contest.

2. Community-building

Marketing guru Seth Godin stated that consumers want to be connected to peer consumers rather than with businesses. Building communities totally fits this idea: enable people sharing the same values to connect. Does your business serve vegetarian meals? Perhaps you could create a community in where people can give each other tips to eat healthy food in general.

3. Character building

Who wants to talk to something that doesn’t have a soul? Brands need to be real. Start creating a unique DNA and live your brand.

In short

Quit simply sending information. Enable consumers to preach your message.