In the eighties, during my first marketing lessons, marketing and market influence were mainly focused

on sales. Your product was invented, tested, updated and launched on a small scale to subsequently

explode through the roof. The P of Place was the predominating P in marketing parlance. When we spoke about traditional marketing, we mainly spoke about mobilising as many channels as possible to ‘push’ the product. Calculations further guaranteed success.

A sales pitch was written and guaranteed conditions were stipulated. Of course, in these in-between channels, pull strategies already existed where the final customer was directly alluded to. Marketing was very simple: the customer will take the offer and pay. Then; after sales, after service and

cross-selling occurred. Then all of a sudden saw the advent of the internet. Customers demanded more transparency, they wanted to be informed before

they purchased a product in a store. Assisting customers and harnessing new relationships are new phenomena we have often seen in the

last ten years. The CRM is the perfect tool for modern businesses. Relation marketing is the logical link for the current trend in social marketing.

In 2009 the consumers won’t be pushed around. Social marketing is a means to support a socially involved organisation, but is also focused on developing a customer relationship. Social marketing doesn’t push a particular product, but will rather enable the customer

to speak. He will now have the power to ascertain your organisation’s strengths and also be able to see

if you can serve him through a channel. Deflecting marketing focus away from your core product will

enable you to establish a social platform. A social what? A platform where you can let the customer

speak his/her mind. Today, brands are being made or broken online. Power no longer rests with

the channel. It is in the hands of the organisation that creates a pleasant, open platform for its future and

current customers. Traditional retail outlets, where previously you as a customer had to be, have been

exchanged for communities and platforms where brands and suppliers hope they are shown in a positive

light. Patrick Petersen is an independent Online Marketeer