"Customers want to express themselves, to be involved with the brand," Mr. Fluevog said in an interview at the John Fluevog Shoes boutique on Newbury Street in Boston.
Eric von Hippel, head of the innovation and entrepreneurship group at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, calls this bottom-up phenomenon "lead-user innovation," and has studied its effects in industries from extreme-sports gear to medical equipment.
In a time of ever more talented technology enthusiasts, hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers, all connected by Internet-enabled communication, he says, the most intensely engaged users of a product often find new ways to enhance it long before its manufacturer does. Thus, he argues, companies that aspire to stand out in fast-moving markets would be wise to invite their smartest users into the product design process.
"It's getting cheaper and cheaper for users to innovate on their own," Professor von Hippel said. "This is not traditional market research — asking customers what they want. This is identifying what your most advanced users are already doing and understanding what their innovations mean for the future of your business."
Peter van Stolk, the founder and chief executive of a fast-growing soft-drink company based in Seattle, doesn't expect his customers to invent new drinks or to reinvent any of his existing line of organic teas, energy drinks and carbonated beverages in offbeat flavors like Blue Bubblegum, Fufu Berry and Lemon Drop. But he does rely on customers to infuse his company's brand image and retail presence, and to exercise their voice in shaping a message to the marketplace.
From the New York Times
By WILLIAM C. TAYLOR
