Concept Development for a Green Product with Customer Participation
Seismonaut has developed a concept for a user-centered green (environmentally conscious) product concept for a large Danish company, with more than 500 employees and a turnover in 2007 of more than 2 billion Danish kroner.
Challenge
During recent years two major trends have emerged, both of which have become important elements of good business practice.
- The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), where the company takes responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, communities and the environment.
- The development of online based communication, which is increasingly interactive and thereby creates a growing need among customers to be listened to and taken seriously by corporations.
In the late spring of 2008 the client came to us and wanted to explore the possibilities of how these trends could be incorporated into their business strategy. More specifically we narrowed the challenge down to what a concept for a green product with a high degree of customer participation could look like.
Solution
Through desk research we mapped the industry’s and competitor’s approach to CSR and the availability of green products on the market. Through the research it became apparent that the company had an opportunity to be a pioneer in the market and create a product and customer experience that was unique. Together with representatives from the company Seismonaut carried out several brainstorming sessions with the emphasis on matching the company’s situation with market-relevant needs.
By working out visualizations and graphical mockups we explained the concept and how it was to work. It was then delivered to the client for further action. Outcome During our research it became clear that a green product can be a confusing and foggy concept. For the same reason we decided to develop a product with a very high degree of transparency for the customer. The customers participate in an online ideation process where they come up with ideas on how to use the product. All customers vote and discuss the ideas and at the end of a given period the best ideas are implemented. Afterwards the status of the ideas carried out can be followed continually in an online community via blogs and podcasts.
To the customer the concept is first and foremost a product that satisfies a growing need to be green and environmentally conscious. But it is also a new and exciting experience that infuses the customer with a feeling of being able to make a difference. To the client company the concept was a way to make a green product that stands out from anything else. But it was also a new and interesting way to connect with customers and build much closer relationships via social media. By empowering its customers and opening up otherwise internal processes the company can appear visionary and innovative.
More information?
For more information about this case please contact Peter Dreyer at peter@seismonaut.com or by phone at 2145 7783.
