Customers are becoming more empowered and connected, which is giving them more power in the marketplace. We are moving from the age of information asymmetry to the age of information democracy. Consequently, firms must rethink how they interact with customers. While traditional marketing views the customer as an information recipient Marketing 3.0 elevates the customer to the status of ‘collaborative partner’ in a company's marketing efforts.

In essence, collaborative marketing is the process of working together with customers to create value in marketing exchanges. Relationship marketing requires firms to think about relating to customers. In contrast, collaborative marketing requires firms to think about making customers an integral part of the firm's marketing activities - if not a virtual extension of the firm’s marketing organization. In collaborative marketing, the network becomes the enabler of collaborative exchanges, which go beyond relational exchanges because they involve shared dependence and maximizing mutual benefit.

Best practice companies are facilitating peer-to-peer and peer-to-expert interactions within their customers’ own trusted social networks. By identifying and targeting key opinion leaders within these networks, marketers have been able to build and harness powerful communities of advocates and promoters. As consumers begin to trust traditional “broadcasters” less and “re-broadcasters” more, marketers are becoming increasingly reliant on these armies of trusted advisors. Firms that harness the power of collaborative marketing are able to virtually include their end-customers in their marketing operations and to take their customer relationships to a deeper level.

That said, the most important factor in engaging customers is to create mutual benefit and to be genuine about your motivations and intentions.