Crowdsourcing in Marketing Firms

Photo from clickworker.com 

    According to the Oxford Dictionary, Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the internet. It works when companies seek online crowds to perform a task on their behalf. The crowd may be open to anyone interested or limited to a specific crowd with knowledge or expertise in a subject. Many projects are free, but some firms offer payment upon completion. Some companies operate by allowing groups to publish content on their websites. (Whitla 2009)

    Marketing firms use crowdsourcing in product development, advertising and promotion, and marketing research. Firms use product development to get advice on new products or old products with new designs or have crowdsourcing communities to design their own products. Crowdsourcing has minimized the time for product development because three reasons:

1.  A large number of quality consumers are willing to participate.
2. There is no filter between consumers and salespeople, allowing firms to talk to consumers and receive immediate feedback.
3. Firms can tailor areas of product development for crowdsourcers focus. (Whitla 2009)

    The second area of crowdsourcing is advertising and promotion. Firms use advertising and promotion to increase users for a product. For instance, firms will have crowdsourcers to write positive reviews on various websites. Crowdsources help smaller firms with creating and developing advertising and promotional activities. When reading this, I instantly think of Blue Bell Ice Cream; they often take suggestions for new flavors from consumers. Blue Bell's latest flavor is credited to a seventh grader who thought strawberry lemonade would make a great flavor of ice cream. Businesses often ask crowdsources to develop a slogan or tagline for future campaigns. Crowdsources help companies in many ways, like a broader range of ideas from a more diverse group at a fraction of the cost. In 2006, L'Oréal paid the winner of their eyeshadow television ad $1000, which would typically have cost them $164,000. Another way to get ideas is for companies to place a comment section on their website or under products to gain insight to better their products. Consumers receive compensation if businesses use their ideas. (Whitla 2009)

    Marketing research is another way to use crowdsourcing. Marketing managers use marketing research from crowdsourcers to formulate information quickly and at a low cost. When consumers are paid to take surveys or write reviews, researchers question their opinions and the truthfulness of the overly positive reviews. Sometimes paying consumers can lead to getting outside of the target audience. Is this person genuinely enjoying the product or doing so because they are getting paid? This is a relatively small group to question but still worthwhile considering. If companies post a paid survey for a particular group of people, what stops random people from getting paid for taking the survey? (Whitla 2009)

Crowdsourcing allows firms to achieve more work in less time and at less than the usual cost. Some may have the expertise or knowledge about the subject or are just willing to complete the task. Small firms benefit the most because they may lack access to advertising agencies, public relations firms, graphic designers, or photographers. Sometimes too much crowd can equal too much work. For crowdsourcing to work best, firms need to be focused and clearly explained, and the firm needs to have procedures. (Dodson 2021)

    Companies must first identify their crowd, gather necessary information, and validate. Marketing professionals need to know their audience before marketing a product, and the same for crowdsourcing. Some consumers will only retain an interest in a product because of the pay. Companies must find a way to filter through those and get to the people who are genuinely interested in their product. Gather information by asking questions to get more details or spark interest to start a conversation. Be sure to categorize the data, ensure the business goals align with the details, and follow up to ensure consumers can follow directions. (Dodson 2021)

What are ways companies can make crowdsourcing more appealing?

1. Offer Incentives.
1. Consumers who receive pay or incentives are more likely to respond to a post and share their ideas. 
2. Make it Easy.
1. Participation should be easy, do not make the submission process complicated. 
3. Do not limit yourself to specific groups.
1. Even though expert knowledge is ideal, it will often benefit the company to take ideas from a general user. 
4. Evaluate responses quickly.
1. Do your best to get back to consumers quickly. When consumers wait too long, they often lose interest in the product or service. 
5. Be transparent about your goals. 
1. The company has goals set for a reason, do not be afraid to say no. Be clear about the rules and expectations of those participating. (Daly 2021)

    When done the correct way, crowdsourcing can be beneficial to businesses. Crowdsourcing provides valuable insights about consumers and if they enjoy your company and products. It gives you an understanding of improving your products or service and making the best of social media customer service. Customers like to receive responses to their comments and messages. Do not wait weeks to respond. The internet and social media bring most crowdsourcing, and analytics help determine your target audience. Analytics help assess the changes needed to appeal to the target audience more. (Zote 2019)

References

Daly, C. (2021). How to Crowdsource Ideas for Your Organization (and Why You'll Want to). July. https://thoughtexchange.com/blog/crowdsourcing-ideas-within-your-organization/.

Dodson, A. (2021). 3 Steps for Crowdsourcing Your Learning and Development Content. November. https://ttcinnovations.com/3-steps-for-crowdsourcing-your-learning-and-development-content/.

Whitla, P. (2009). Crowdsourcing and Its Application in Marketing Activities. March. https://cmr-journal.org/article/view/1145/2641.

Zote, J. (2019). How to use social media crowdsourcing effectively. November. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-crowdsourcing/.