Crowdsourcing is one of the most famous examples of tapping into the general public’s innate creativity, knowledge, and talent. The concept allows companies to defer traditional research and development costs by sourcing various aspects of a project to multiple members of an online community. The results are often extremely innovative and effective.
1. Unexpected Solutions To Tough Problems
Traditional business functions such as market research, product development, and customer service often rely on the same tried and tested methods to achieve their goals. This can lead to stagnation in creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Crowdsourcing helps businesses access fresh ideas and solutions that can open employees’ eyes to new ways of thinking and working. You can access a growing virtual pool of dedicated, experienced, and eager individuals willing to interact with your business. When you tap into this pool, you will be surprised by the innovative solutions they can provide.
2. Focused Feedback
When you have a large group of people contributing to a project, the feedback you can access is huge. It is easy to run various polls and get feedback on multiple ideas during development. You can also create surveys that target specific demographics and even particular fields of expertise. To get this kind of focused feedback, you must personally contact hundreds or even thousands of experts. This is much more work than you need with crowdsourcing.
3. Creative Inspiration
Inspiration can often be found in the strangest of places. Crowdsourcing can access ideas and concepts from people who have never been directly involved in a project. It gives you access to various skilled individuals willing to contribute their time, expertise, and skills online. You would be surprised at the creative ideas that can come out when putting such people together in one place. Creativity is boosted when people are placed together in a community that encourages and rewards innovative thinking.
4. You Can Crowdsource Investment
You can create a crowdfunding page to raise funds for your business. In this way, people can contribute money when they can and in their own time. They would be charged a small fee for their virtual participation, and the amount they contributed would be directed toward developing your product or service. Crowdsourcing can also help you find donors who are willing to give money on an anonymous basis. These funds can pay for research and development, product design, and other expenses associated with new businesses.
5. Marketing And Promotional Cost Savings
Traditional marketing tactics require a lot of money to develop and implement. The cost of designing, printing, and distributing flyers, pamphlets, flyers, brochures, and other promotional material is directly connected to the number of people you can reach. When you crowdsource this marketing, the cost of advertising is lowered drastically. You can use one or a combination of online marketing techniques, including blogs, news sites, forums, and social media, to drive your business or product online and reach new customers. This allows your business to reach customers you would not have been able to reach from traditional means.
6. You Can Crowdsource Research
Many companies must finalize research before they launch their product. This is the stage where you want the views and opinions of your target audience. A survey can be created which is targeted at the ideal customer. You can use this information to determine your marketing strategy, develop your sales pitch and complete other product development aspects requiring last-minute research and information. This approach to data gathering is especially useful when you are looking to target a very specific demographic or market segment, which would normally be difficult to access through traditional methods of gathering data.
Bottom Line
These crowdsourcing advantages have translated into numerous creative projects, marketing strategies, and business ventures. The concept has worked for many and has even resulted in significant economic growth for many businesses. The rise of crowdsourcing is only expected to grow as more companies realize the benefits of tapping into the everyday creativity of their customers, employees, or virtually anyone with an internet connection.
