When customer relationship management (CRM) gained attention in the 1980s, it was a technology category. Over time, CRM matured into a set of business practices and attitudes. Today, we are seeing a similar wave of innovation in technology and the way businesses relate to customers.9 This one is called 2.0. While the landscape of 2.0 communities and technologies is still young and evolving rapidly, its impact on customer expectations is clear. Customers demand greater vendor transparency and increased influence over what is sold to them, where, and how. They also exercise greater collective and individual power in the marketplace.
The new mind-set will not be constrained to online interaction or to consumer markets. Just as with CRM, corporations will need to adapt new mind-sets and processes to engage customers interactively and collaboratively. B2B companies that can redefine the customer relationship from one of buyer-seller to that of a team collaborating to design a solution will remain the most relevant and command greater loyalty and higher average prices. The tools to do so are available now. The following rules focus on the mind-set and practices that make customer collaboration possible with or without IT investment.