Small Businesses are constantly searching for ways to solve problems in the most effective way and lowest cost. Crowdsourcing is one method of doing that. The term was coined back in 2006 by Jeff Howe in an article for Wired magazine. He noticed how the rising business trend of business outsourcing was intersecting with emerging social media. Crowdsourcing is distributed problem-solving, where problems are given to a group of solvers, “the crowd”, which submits solutions. The crowd also judges the quality of given solutions and finds an optimum answer.
Why would anyone want to participate? After all, they don’t directly benefit. It turns out people have a natural desire to share their expertise and get satisfaction solely from expressing their knowledge and skills. Crowdsourcing may remind you of Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer” and fence painting. Many readers may assume Tom was exploiting others, but who’s to say they didn’t get something out of painting the fence?
So how does this apply to small businesses? There are many business problems that can be cost-effectively addressed by using crowdsourcing. Businesses themselves can be created around it.
Threadless is a T-shirt company where customers select the best designs, taking advantage of the crowd.
Minted.com invites stationery designers to submit designs which customers vote on through monthly design challenges.
Here is a list of companies who are using various crowdsourcing techniques.
Here’s some ways to use crowdsourcing that any company can use:
Request Feedback from your Social Network
Your customers know what they like and crowdsourcing is a great way to get a lot of really innovative ideas. Two areas that can easily be crowdsourced are product naming and design. Asking customers for help can create some anticipation and buzz around new products.
Consider the makeup of your crowd and how likely they are to participate. It works best with people who are truly interested in your product, not random Facebook friends or Twitter followers. Try to determine an optimum demographic and target them.
Once the best choice is made, be prepared to move forward quickly. Follow-up is important, otherwise customers will feel alienated. Communicate how you’ve used crowdsourced ideas.
Contests and Discounts
Contests are a great way to get people talking about your brand. Good contest ideas for crowdsourcing include asking for new designs, recipes, songs, logos, etc.
Use social networks like Facebook and Twitter that will amplify your message via wall postings and retweets to the friends of those who enter. This will transform participants into advocates.
Also be sure to collect contact information for post-event marketing. After all, you’ll need to credit to the winners.
Polls and Surveys
It’s a good idea to limit choices. This makes it less overwhelming and easier for customers to participate. Perhaps start with your employees and narrow down name or design choices to 10 or less.
Polls and Surveys are perfect for this sort of limited selection. They engage customers quickly and promote brand loyalty.
Summary
Crowdsourcing is a great way to promote your brand. If customers are more engaged in your decision making process, they feel more involved and are likely to be more invested in your brand.
If you’ve crowdsourced any of your decisions and would like to share the experience, please comment below.