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Co-creation movement on the rise
It is much more than just listening to customers: it implies shared learning and communication between two equal problem solvers.
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With the rising popularity of social networking, the government can more easily tap into the crowd’s collective intelligence. (Shutterstock.com/File)
T
he process of new product development always makes for an interesting study. Akin to a baby being born, the process consists of various stages, which is full of challenges and high risk. It will inevitably be of huge concern to any company developing a new product, whether or not it is well-received by potential customers.
In the traditional era marked by a vertical marketing approach, companies played a dominant role in new product development processes. All stages of development were controlled by the company, while consumers were treated as passive recipients, whose role was limited to having an opinion on the product.
As with the development of products in the digital era, the development process also takes a more “horizontal” route. The companies keenly provide several opportunities for customers to be actively involved in various product development stages. This effectively means that the final product could be called a result of collaboration between the company and the customer.
Developments in information technology, particularly the internet, have led to a growing need for the process of co-creation as the internet provides a platform for enhanced interaction between companies and consumers, making this desired collaboration much easier to achieve.
The internet provides a vast resource of information to customers, which further helps sharpen their creative inputs. And the flagbearers of the co-creation movement are technology driven companies like Firefox, Fiat, Boeing and Google, among others.
That said, others are also widely embracing the concept of cocreation lately. For example, Lego is sort of a pioneer in encouraging co-creation among its fans and customers to produce a wide variety of new game designs.
Starbucks also uses an online platform called mystarbucksidea to accommodate the aspirations of consumers related to improvement in its products and services. Another example is Nike, which gives consumers a chance to design their own shoes and T-shirts online, through NIKEiD.com.
