Sometimes simple ideas help keep us focused. A psychologist friend reminds her clients to think of their feet when they begin to feel overwhelmed or stressed. For Marketing 2.0, the reminder may be “market with vs. at.”

Social media is about marketing with customers, from co-innovation for product/service development to word of mouth marketing for marketing communications.

During a conversation this week with some smart marketing people they concurred that social media is just another channel. When I offered the “with vs. at” idea, they paused, and started thinking differently.

The “with” mindset is at the heart of marketing 2.0. Simple idea, but also difficult to bake into business processes.