For brands, crowdsourcing − in which customers get to vote for ideas, names or products they like best − is in many ways a lot like a first date. Brands get to ‘meet’ their customers, test the waters and understand some of their desires and motivations. But, like most first dates, crowdsourcing does not provide a solid foundation upon which to build a future. Would you marry someone after one date?
If we can all agree that one-off dates hardly offer the kind of insight or relationships that can drive meaningful change, what’s the alternative? Understanding and relating to customers on a deeper level requires something more genuine, a considered strategy to embed them within your business. Instead of ‘dating’ their consumers in one-off events, brands that want to really understand their customers must focus on building true, authentic connections with them.
Here are five reasons why brands must embrace collaborating with customers over crowdsourcing:
1. Customers are the experts
No one knows a brand better than its customers. Whether designing or refining a new product or experience, working with customers from the beginning − and over the long-term − guarantees a detailed roadmap of their needs and a compass to navigate at every turn.
For example, before acting on decisions directly affecting customers, National Car Rental consults with a community of loyalty program (called the Emerald Club) members. “So many of the ideas and improvements in the experience that we deliver to our customers were ideas that came straight [from our customers],” says Carol Jones, Director of Insights and Intelligence at National Car Rental.
2. Customers can innovate
“Consumers themselves are a major source of product innovations,” noted MIT’s Eric Von Hippel. He couldn’t have been more spot-on. As companies are challenged to stay ahead of the dizzying pace of global markets, internal innovation cannot keep pace. Bringing customer ingenuity in is imperative to fuelling business growth.
It’s a win-win. Take Etihad Airways’ approach. When the Abu Dhabi-based airline created a consortium of designers, brand experts, and customers, ideas for reinventing the in-flight experience resulted in The Residence, the first and only three-room suite in the sky. And, Etihad recently won a prestigious award for its new cabin interior design. What better testament to the efficacy and utility of co-creating with customers?
3. Customers are catalysts
“It’s clear that our world has changed and our consumers have changed. But our company has not changed enough.” Consider this statement – from Chairman and Chief Executive of Kraft Foods Group, John Cahill – on the topic of Generation Z. At two billion strong worldwide, Gen Z (basically anyone born after 1995) is a new, confident customer breed. They don’t look to brands for validation, but collaboration is in their DNA. For brands, it’s wise to get to know them. Now.
As fashion retailers grapple with how to appeal to young shoppers’ tastes and budgets, “fast fashion” brands like Forever 21, Zara, and H&M are finding success. They’re luring young shoppers back – in-store and online – with affordably priced clothes in constant, on-trend rotation that meet Gen Z’s on-demand needs precisely. Once-iconic American fashion brand The Gap knows that it needs to evolve faster. "The role of the store is evolving," says Gap CEO Art Peck, who is well aware of the work ahead and embraces the opportunity within the challenge. "What it’s going to become is something that we and the customers will figure out, together, over time."
4. Customers can break down walls
Companies – especially large ones – are inherently siloed. But customers aren’t. They don’t care about IT or R&D; they just want the product, service, message, or experience to meet their needs. If it doesn’t, they’ll quickly turn elsewhere.
When leaders from one of the largest retailers in the world were immersed into the nuances of their customers’ daily lives through objects, photos, and videos, this ultimately helped the company to become more agile internally, and more closely aligned to customers’ needs.
One-off crowdsourcing with groups of people who have no vested interest in, or commitment to, the outcome is a poor way to innovate for the future. But tangibly folding customers’ voices into an organisation is a very powerful and effective way to prime a company for making necessary changes, fast and with minimal risk. It creates empathy, facilitates buy-in, and it gets people to start thinking – and acting – differently.
A culture rooted in anticipating customer needs instinctively and perpetually marks out the company that will grow – quickly and confidently – two steps ahead of the competition.
By Charles Trevail, CEO of C Space.
PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.
comments powered by Disqus