Harnessing the Passion of Consumers

Consumers often know more about products and services they use than the companies who produce them do.  They know what they need or want these things for and know what works and what might need a little improvement.  It makes sense that smart companies would listen to their most passionate  consumers in order to efficiently make improvements on their products and services.  In the current (October 2005) issue of Business 2.0, Georgia Flight asks MIT Professor and innovation guru Eric von Hippel (author of Democratizing Innovation) how companies might use this enthusiasm and knowledge about products that consumers have to their advantage:

To channel consumer enthusiasm effectively, MIT professor Eric von Hippel recommends that companies design toolkits that let users create customized products within specific parameters set by the company. Pioneers in this approach include food industry supplier International Flavors & Fragrances, whose toolkits enable its customers to modify specific flavors, which IFF then manufactures. BMW has been using a Web-based toolkit to solicit ideas for two years, with as many as 15 consumer-innovated designs finding their way into in-car online services now in the prototype stage. Roomba vacuum maker iRobot recently got wind of users modifying the cleaning devices by mounting wireless webcams on the machines and using them to monitor their houses from work. Now the company is considering releasing toolkits to see what else users can come up with.

The tricky part for companies isn’t discovering whether such passion for their products exists—if eBay (EBAY) has taught us anything, it’s that there are enthusiasts for just about everything—but where those customers can be found. In his book Democratizing Innovation, von Hippel says that “users on the leading edge of a target market often congregate at specialized events or sites that manufacturers can easily identify.” This involves more than ad hoc tactics such as shoe companies staking out inner-city basketball courts or automakers flocking to conventions where drivers flaunt their modifications; it’s also about continuously mining specialized search engines like Technorati and Daypop for postings relevant to their businesses. It’s about creating “brand community” sites where enthusiasts feel welcome, and making sure employees learn to apply the user innovations posted there.

If you don’t find your passionate customers, you may be blindsided by them. Von Hippel sees user communities innovating independently of manufacturers. “If customers really want something, they won’t wait for you anymore,” he says. Witness the tragicomedy that is the music business: Paralyzed by its fear of digital piracy, the industry refused to embrace online distribution. Consumers got tired of waiting, and in the absence of authorized alternatives, the unprotected MP3 emerged as the most popular file format, while distributed file-sharing networks provided access to music that fans weren’t allowed to buy through legitimate online channels.

LINK to the entire article