From co-creation to collaboration

@steven_insites @tomderuyck
conversationmanagement.biz I @steven_insites I @tomderuyck

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What to expect from this paper?
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• An inspirational view on structural collaboration between your company
and the market, based on 15 interviews with senior executives of (global)
brands from different industries.

• Main reasons why your company should be serious about structural
collaboration with your customers.

• A clear overview of what will be key, in order to succeed with structural
collaboration.

• An overview of some organizational measures your company will need to
take when moving from one-off co-creation to structural collaboration.


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Definition: what do we mean
with structural collaboration?
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This paper describes the success factors for ‘structural collaboration’.
When we talk about structural collaboration we mean the integration of
the voice of the customer in all decision making flows of your company.
In most companies, customers are only allowed to give feedback at the
very end of a decision making flow through traditional market research.
This paper gives insights on how to involve the customer in every single
phase of the decision making flow on an ongoing basis. We
acknowledge that collaboration can also be done with employees, but
the focus of this paper is on collaboration with the market.


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Part

1


…………………
Part

1 The facts about crowdsourcing,
co-creation and collaboration.
Co-creation is hot. In recent years, the world has been witness to a whole host of successful co-creation cases.
Doritos allowed its fans to develop an advert to be shown during the Superbowl. Lays Crisps asked their
customers to help choose a new flavour and snack manufacturer Mora produced a new croquette in collaboration
with its consumers. Co-creation and crowd-sourcing are high on the agenda of the majority of today’s marketers.
It is seen as a quick way to experiment with this new way of working. There is nothing wrong with this, but in
most cases it doesn’t go any further than being just a trendy marketing campaign. The other problem with all of
the examples above: they were all ‘one-offs’. There is no long term vision, nor intention to collaborate with the
customer in a more structural way.

Currently, only 3% of all companies have experience with developing new products and services with their
consumers. In most cases1, this collaboration starts with a pilot project. If the test is successful, the
collaboration can gradually be built up in a more structural manner. Less than one out of ten companies who co-
create with their customers also use this collaboration for the launching of new products. We may say that the
focus of co-creation is mainly focused on the initiation of new ideas2. But even if consumers are more or less
continually involved in the process of dreaming up new ideas, this is still not enough to be able to speak of
‘structural collaboration’. Structural collaboration means that the customer is involved in all aspects of your
company’s life.

12011, InSites Consulting, Social media integration survey.
22011, Frost & Sullivan, R&D/innovation and product development priorities survey results.


1. Getting new insights: exploration of the target
group. Listen directly on how they perceive the
product and service quality to optimize the
commercial portfolio. This also implies discovering
new market trends and unmet needs from your
most relevant customers.
1 2
2. The development of new ideas and fine-tuning Insighting Developing
of existing ideas. Create new commercial value
together with the customer. By involving them in
the product, campaign or brand development flow,
you create a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. The Business
most relevant customers decide almost upfront Objectives
what they will buy.
3. Key role during implementation. Include
customers during the implementation phase to
make sure that your interpretation of their ideas is
done in a correct way. 4 3
4. Continuous evaluation and optimization. Use Optimizing Implementing
the voice of the customer as a continuous flow of
information to improve loads of smaller, tactical
issues and to re-shape the future of your company
with your customer as your primary consultant.


And it pays off: a recent article in the ‘Harvard Business Review’ claimed that companies are better able to
solve all their main business problems if they collaborate closely with their consumers. 3The good news
is that consumers are also willing to help companies out with this: more than half of them4 want to
collaborate with one of their favourite brands around one or more of these issues.

Moreover, recent research carried out at the University of Wageningen5 has demonstrated that products whose
packaging is labelled ‘co-created with consumers’ will sell significantly better than equivalent products that are
not labelled in this way. In other words, consumers have more confidence in each other’s judgement than in
the judgement of professional experts within a company. And they are probably right. In a recent study, we
found that new product ideas that were co-developed with consumers score especially higher on ‘being relevant’
and ‘fulfilling ones needs’6.

The goal of this paper is to look into the necessary ingredients for a company to structurally get the consumer
on board: every single day and for almost all decisions that need to be taken. As a consequence of this
intense collaboration between your company and the market, decisions will no longer be imposed from above.
And when the majority of your decisions are taken in this manner, following consultation with the market, you
may really speak of ‘structural collaboration’. The consumer is truly represented in the boardroom. His voice
can be heard in every part of your company, a voice that is every bit as loud as the voice of management and
staff. You may even want to consider actually appointing a consumer as an honorary member of your
board.
32008, Harvard Business Review, The contribution economy, Scott Cook.
42011, InSites Consulting, Social Media around the world study.
52011, MSc thesis: Van Dijk, J. (30 August 2011). ‘The effects of co-creation on brand and product perceptions’.

Faculty of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, more info: Joycediscovers.wordpress.com
62011, InSites Consulting with Heinz, R&D study.


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Part

2


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Part

2 The objectives of
structural collaboration.
Companies who are working on structural collaboration with their
customers have four clear objectives in mind with this approach:

1. Create better products, improve the customer service and communicate in a more impactful way.
This is by far the most important objective for large brands to collaborate with consumers. By succeeding in
this objective, the overall performance of the organization will increase.
2. Become more agile. By involving customers in every phase of a decision making chain, things move faster.
Companies can make better decisions faster and have a better feeling what will be needed to be as
successful in the future. A big plus in today’s fast moving world.
3. Add consumer-feeling to the gut-feeling. A lot of managers rely on their gut-feeling, which is wonderful.
Structural collaboration should add ‘consumer-feeling’ to it. By collaborating so often, managers create the
ability to put on the consumers hat during a meeting and think as the customer. Allowing them to make more
consumer relevant choices.
4. Marketing & PR. Companies who are listening and involve consumers in decision making are popular
nowadays. Tell all your customers that you take decisions based on consulting other customers, and they will
like you more. Leveraging the internal collaboration platforms towards the external communication, has an
impact on the overall perception. This is not the main goal, but a very welcomed indirect effect.


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Part

3


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Part

3 An evolution,
not a revolution.
It’s clear that structural collaboration with consumers is not about having the right
technology to make it happen. It is about a mentality shift for most organizations.
A shift from a ‘we know best’-attitude towards an open mentality. The most
beautiful results of collaborating companies is the creation of what we just called
the ‘consumer feeling’. Adding the consumer feeling to the gut feeling of
companies is the biggest change one can achieve through structural
collaboration.

To reach this situation, there are a number of steps to be taken. Based on our
research, we learned that all companies started small and evolved towards
bigger and bigger collaboration projects. In the end, collaboration was really
embedded in their organization. It was a process of change, not a revolution.


…………………
1. …………………
2. …………………
3.
1-time Project based Structural
try out collaboration collaboration

1. Collaboration always starts with a first time try out. Companies organize a co-creation project in which
they allow the customer to participate in one specific project. Most occurring examples are co-creation
of a new product, a new package or new marketing communication.

2. If this try out is experienced as a success, the second step is to apply collaboration on
a project based level in the organization. In this stage, companies have the habit to involve customers
in every important new project they work on.

3. After a while, it becomes hard for them to take decisions without the voice of the customer during the
process and they decide to structurally collaborate.


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Part

4


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Part

4 Five pillars
for Collaboration
Based our interviews,
we concluded that
there are 5 crucial
pillars if you want to
1 4
be successful in the Fit with the Internal
evolution towards company
= External
structural collaboration. culture
3
C-level
involvement,
support is
2 not enough 5
Measure
Select the right
impact
participants


1
Fit with the company culture
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During our interviews, everyone However, this does not imply that In other words: let the collaboration
mentioned company culture as a very collaboration is only possible in certain objectives and way of working
important pillar to evolve from co-creation companies. Collaboration is possible in (duration, intensity and level of
to structural collaboration. It is easier to every company, but the current culture involvement of different departments) fit
collaborate with employees and determines where you can start. To be with the existing culture. This approach
customers if your organization is successful with collaboration it is will allow you to start. After a while, the
characterized by an open and positive important to select an approach that fits company culture will change
culture the current culture. Don’t try to change automatically, project by project.
the culture through your first collaboration Employees will be more connected to
projects. For example, if you have culture consumers. This will result in direct
where low cost is key, make sure the feedback which will allow better and
objective of the collaboration is to reduce faster decisions. In the end, this brings in
costs of other expenses (e.g. doing less more money.
ad hoc market research). If you are a As a consequence, the opinion of the
company that has connection with its customer will increase in value and your
Culture target group high on the agenda, add company will evolve towards an
consumer connectivity as an objective. open, collaborative environment.

Collaboration


2
Select the right participants
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There are two types of customer collaboration possible: an open online platform where everyone can participate
and a closed online community where you select the people to join in.

In the large open communities you have little direct control over who joins in and who doesn’t. The members come
together in a very spontaneous way to discuss particular subjects that are of their interest. Your role with regards to
these people is simply to listen. This will allow you to discover a series of unfulfilled market needs, which may
eventually lead to new products and services. Of course, you are also free to ask them questions, but you must
always remember that these are open communities – anyone else might be listening to their answers!

Companies that want to involve the customer in more strategic decisions and who have a need for in-depth
feedback, tend to work with a closed online community with a limited number of relevant customers. If you want to
solve a specific management problem, it is better to discuss possible solutions with a smaller, closed group of
between 50 and 150 of people with a keen interest into your category. It could also be a group of your most ardent
fans, fans who you have carefully vetted and selected yourself. The major advantage of this approach is that you
have everything in your own hands – and this is advisable when you don’t want the whole world to know what
decisions are being taken.


It is important to acknowledge that not every customer will be able – or is suitable – to
help you solve management problems. To give your company access to the right
advice on a daily basis, you need to listen to the right (and relevant) people. For your
communities seek to attract people who can offer an added value. The minimum
condition is that they must have a clear commitment to the company and what it stands
for. They might be an expert in the sector, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic amateur in
the sector or just a big fan of your brand. Research has shown that without this kind of
emotional commitment people seldom have enough interest to contribute effectively to
an online community7. In other words, you need to talk to people who are interesting
and interested. If they don’t have an opinion or the natural motivation to take part is
missing, your community will not achieve what you want it to achieve. But it natural
engagement not enough, in order to make your community a real success you need to
manage it well. A number of things are important: be open and transparent about the
goals of each project, listen in an active way (allow participants to put their issues on
your agenda too), make it a fun experience (after all people are doing this in their spare
time) and give enough feedback on what you did with their answers.

72010, Ludwig, De Ruyck, Schillewaert, InSites Consulting and the University of Maastricht.


If you really want to progress to co-creation of new products or services with your community, you need to add the
following two dimensions to your selection criteria, resulting in two complementary groups of co-creators8

• People with innovative vision and social independence: These people formulate their vision about
innovation in an independent manner. They base this vision exclusively on their own experience and opinions,
without taking account of what might be ‘popular’. This results in very pure ideas. They like trying out new things
and generally have more extreme views than the ‘average’ customer. As a result, they can sometimes come up
with revolutionary ideas.

• Social influencers: This group discusses innovations whilst taking account of what their social environment
thinks. Influencers are regarded by this environment as creative specialists, who are quick to see the
advantages of new innovations. Consequently, their opinions about such innovations are frequently asked – and
followed. They like to be occupied creatively with new products and think that it is important that others also
approve of the products they like to use. They converse with others proactively on these matters. It is therefore
clear that this is a very relevant group for collaborative purposes. It is also a group with significant conversation
potential. This means that they not only help with the initiation and development of new ideas, but that they also
start conversations during the implementation of these ideas. They have a sixth sense for the innovations that
will catch on and those that will not. In this respect, they filter the ideas of the first group.

82010, Schillewaert, De Ruyck, InSites Consulting


3
C-level involvement, support is not enough
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One of the critical success factors In order to make sure the CEO’s who invest in collaboration
is the involvement of your top feedback of consumers is used want to add consumer-feeling to
executives. To implement during implementation, the the gut-feeling of the organization.
collaboration in a credible way to involvement of your C-level is Many organizations don’t have a
the market, there is need for necessary. Top management clue about what the consumers
tangible proof of the results of the support is actually not enough. thinks. As a consequence market
collaboration. Consumers want to Based on our interviews, we research is needed for every
see a new product, change in conclude that the most successful small step. The moment your
service or communication. If they cases of collaboration are all organization gets a consumer-
feel there is no impact of their stories where the CEO has an feeling, managers can look at the
efforts, they will drop out. active role: both internally and world through the eyes of the
Consumers participate in this type externally. Internally, he or she consumer, which increases speed
of projects to get recognized by a leads by example: consumer and decreases costs of ad hoc
company, not to get rich. feedback is used to make research.
important decisions. To the
external world, they are the face
of the company who reports back
on decisions that have been
made.


4
Internal communication is not
enough. Internal = External
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Who How
Managers show more interest in a project or
approach that gets external credits than in a
project with a sole internal focus. In other words: Board Movies &

Within the
company
make sure your structural collaboration is not infographics
Brand/Product
completely taking place behind the scenes of
Management, R&D, … Workshops & reports
your organization.
All departments Consumer stories:
posters, intranet, …
Sharing your collaboration work with the whole
organization and the rest of the world has a
number of advantages. Next to an increase in
motivation of your management, it will also
General & trade/niche

Outside the
increase the motivation of the participants of

company
Consumers
your communities. Further, research has shown press
Brand fans
that consumers have a higher trust level towards New & traditional media
and a better perception of brands that co-create. Adversaries
Crisis management
So, there is also a commercial benefit to
leveraging your efforts externally.


There are a few communication tactics you can apply to increase
the internal and external impact of your collaboration process:

• Meet-up with participants: Collaboration occurs on a digital platform but it is an interaction between people. To increase
the interaction and the emotional bondage, make sure your employees meet-up with these people in the real world as
well. Show them around in your company, tell them your challenges and treat them like part-time employees.

• Go for tangible results: If you work together with your consumers on a structural level, make sure you have concrete
deliverables. These results (e.g. new products, insights, advertising, packaging…) should be shared with the world to
make the collaboration aspirational for the market and for the involved manager.

• Bite size & creative reporting: share the results of your collaboration in a short, compelling and creative way with your
employees. Make sure it is easy to digest and to share.

• Apply content marketing techniques9: don’t communicate 1 or 2 times about your collaboration, but talk about it on a
more frequent basis. Use three levels of content: big content campaigns (e.g. when you have BIG news: launch of an
initiative or showing the end result), content projects (e.g. a theme that you talk about for a few days/weeks) and content
updates (small, daily updates with relevant information).

92012, InSites Consulting, A six step content marketing model (http://www.slideshare.net/stevenvanbelleghem/)


5
Measure impact
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To keep the collaboration flow going, • Success of innovation, impact of communication and improvement
there is need for evidence that the of customer service: by involving customers early in the process, your
approach works. Therefore we advise to company will take better decisions. Product launches, new advertising
use a number of clear success indicators campaigns and so on, should have a higher success rate than before the
that you can measure during the collaboration was implemented.
implementation of structural collaboration • Cost reduction: by integrating the voice of the customer in the entire
in your organization. There is no standard decision making flow, the cost of ad hoc market research could be
list of KPIs to use; they differ from reduced. Next to that, by creating better products and service based on
company to company, as they are closely the input of the market, the impact of word-of-mouth will increase, which
linked to the company culture and the may lead to lower media budgets.
company’s (long term) objectives. There • Consumer feeling of the organization: you can measure to what
are a few KPIs that apply to all extent your management has a better feeling of the attitude and behavior
companies to follow up on the impact of of your target market. The goal is that managers can think as consumers
structural collaboration: and improve their performance through this new required skill.
• Brand perception: listening actively will humanize your brand and make
it more popular.

Define your KPIs, measure them and celebrate success!


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Conclusion: change of internal
implementation processes needed
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Collaboration should lead to decisions that are taken through a cooperation of the market and your
company. The proof of structural collaboration is in the implementation of the ideas. In order to succeed in
this crucial step, there is a need to change the internal decision streams. The challenge is to integrate
consumer feedback and input into every phase of the decision cycle.

Remember that structural collaboration does not come overnight. It starts with a try-out that fits within the
existing culture. Make sure that as from the start you know what your next step will be. In other words: it is
important to start with a try-out, but it is as important to start with a long term view. Make sure you know
where you're going. After the try-out, it is a matter of including collaboration into projects where the fit feels
right. People (internal and external) get bored fast. Make sure you have a flow ready in your collaboration
process to keep the conversations going. Plan with room for flexibility. Once you completed a number of
successful collaboration projects, the possibility to move forward to structural collaboration arrives.


Make sure that along the way, you take into account these last tactical tips to make collaboration work:

• Have clear objectives in each collaboration project. Make sure that you don’t collaborate just for the sake
of it. To get the feedback of consumers in the decision flow, it has to be very clear what the objectives are.
Objectives that are in line with the business goals.

• Involve all stakeholders early in the process. The more departments are involved during the beginning of
the process the better. In order to integrate the collaboration flow in the decision flow, it is crucial to have a
buy-in from the relevant teams.

• Manage expectations. Collaboration won’t bring in the next big idea for your company. Customers are great
sparring partners, but don’t set the expectations too high. Make sure that during the integration of their
feedback in the decision flows, everybody is aware of what to expect from the collaboration.

• Have a community manager. Make sure you have somebody assigned to manage the community. This
person is responsible to manage the conversation with participants of the collaboration process and to share
the insights internally. He or she brings the consumer’s voice to life within the company.

• Create internal and external credibility. By delivering results and integrating the voice of the customer in
your decision flows, you will gain credibility among the participants of the collaboration platform. Credibility
among employees will also grow as they will see that collaboration adds value. Marketing your collaboration
efforts is not a bad thing, but it should not be the only thing.


List of interviewees:
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Caroline Van Hoff, Concept Development Manager, Heineken International

Charles Hageman, Research Manager, KLM

Erkinheimo Pia, Global Collaboration Manager, Nokia

Graham Kahr Social Commerce Product Manager, Zappos

Hans Similon, Evangelist, Mobile Vikings

Joella Marsman, Marketing Researcher, HJ Heinz

Marc Fouconnier, CEO, Famous

Marjan Rintel, VP Marketing & Brand, KLM

Martijn Van Kesteren, Yunomi Leader Benelux, Unilever

Pascale Mignolet, International Market Research Director Coffee & Tea, Sara Lee

Philip Rogge, CEO, Microsoft BE

Piet Decuypere, CEO, Danone

Pol Van Biervliet, CEO, Cisco BE

Stan Knoops, Head of Consumer Insights Europe, Unilever R&D

Tormod Askildsen, Senior Director Community Engagement & Events, Lego


Steven Van Belleghem
Managing Partner, InSites Consulting
Author of The Conversation Company & The Conversation Manager
………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………… steven@insites-consulting.com

Thank you @steven_insites
& open for
all feedback. Tom De Ruyck
……………………………… Head of Research Communities, InSites Consulting
Steven & Tom.
………………………………………………………………………..

tom@insites-consulting.com

@tomderuyck


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