Connotation and Characteristics of Co-creation and Participation of 1. Consumers

Consumer co-creation and participation is a new consumer research thinking, which originates from the concept of value co-creation. Value co-creation refers to the enterprise and consumers, suppliers, distributors, partners and other stakeholders to participate in the process of value creation, through interaction, collaboration, exchange, learning and other ways to achieve the maximum value of a model. The core of value co-creation is to regard consumers as co-creators of value, rather than passive recipients of value, so as to achieve a win-win situation between enterprises and consumers.

Consumer co-creation and participation is a specific form of value co-creation, which is mainly aimed at consumers as stakeholders, allowing consumers to participate in the design, development, testing, improvement, promotion and other processes of products or services, and create value together with enterprises. The process of consumer co-creation and participation can be divided into three stages: front-end, middle-end and back-end. The front end refers to the stage in which consumers participate in the generation of ideas, concepts, prototypes, etc. of products or services; the middle end refers to the stage in which consumers participate in the development, testing, evaluation, etc. of products or services; the back end refers to the delivery stage in which consumers participate in the promotion, dissemination, feedback, etc. of products or services. In these three stages, consumers can play different roles, such as information providers, advisors, collaborators, evaluators, disseminators, supporters, etc.

Consumer co-creation and participation have the following characteristics:

Consumers are active, creative, capable and valuable participants, rather than passive, negative, incapable and worthless objects;

Enterprises are open, inclusive, respectful and cooperative partners, rather than closed, exclusive, controlling and competitive rivals;

Products or services are dynamic, plastic, diverse and personalized results, rather than static, fixed, single and standardized output;

Value is an interactive, collaborative, exchange and learning process, rather than a one-way, isolated, transfer and teaching process.

Advantages and Types of 2. Consumer Co-creation and Participation

Consumer co-creation and participation is of great significance to both enterprises and consumers. By engaging consumers in value co-creation, businesses can gain the following advantages:

Improve service quality: consumers can customize, optimize and improve products or services according to their own needs and preferences, so as to improve the quality and satisfaction of services;

Reduce costs: Consumers can provide enterprises with information, suggestions, feedback, resources, labor, etc., thereby reducing the cost of research and development, production, and marketing;

Improve efficiency: Consumers can speed up the development, testing, evaluation, and promotion of products or services, thereby improving the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises;

Discovering market opportunities: consumers can provide enterprises with new ideas, concepts, prototypes, etc., so as to discover market opportunities and potential;

Inventing new products: consumers can create new products or services together with enterprises, thus creating new value and profits;

Improving existing products: consumers can provide enterprises with evaluations, opinions, suggestions, etc. on existing products or services, so as to improve the performance and functions of existing products or services;

Improve brand awareness: consumers can provide word-of-mouth, recommend, publicity, etc. for enterprises, so as to improve brand awareness and reputation;

Enhance brand value: consumers can establish long-term relationship, trust, loyalty, etc. with enterprises, so as to enhance the value and influence of the brand.

Consumers can also gain the following benefits by participating in value co-creation:

Obtain their own satisfactory products or services: consumers can choose or customize the products or services they want according to their own needs and preferences, so as to obtain higher satisfaction and enjoyment;

To obtain a sense of achievement, honor or reward: consumers can participate in the creation process of products or services, show their ability and creativity, so as to obtain a sense of achievement, honor or reward;

Obtain unique experience and emotion: consumers can obtain unique experience and emotion through interaction, cooperation, exchange and learning with enterprises and other consumers, so as to enhance their sense of happiness and belonging;

Access to new knowledge and skills: Consumers can learn new knowledge and skills by participating in the creation of products or services, thereby improving their own qualities and abilities;

Access to new social relationships and networks: Consumers can establish new social relationships and networks through interaction, collaboration, exchange, and learning with businesses and other consumers, thereby expanding their social resources and influence.

Consumer co-creation and participation can be divided into different types, according to the extent and scope of consumer participation, can be divided into the following four types:

Information co-creation: refers to consumers providing information, data, feedback, etc. to help enterprises understand the needs and preferences of the market and consumers, so as to improve the design and development of products or services. For example, Champu Consulting provided an automobile manufacturer with a social media-based information co-creation method. By analyzing consumers' speech and behavior on social media, it found consumers' expectations and evaluations of automobiles, thereby providing automobile manufacturers with valuable market insights and product suggestions.

Suggested co-creation: refers to consumers to provide enterprises with suggestions, opinions, ideas, etc., to help enterprises create new product or service concepts and prototypes, thereby increasing the innovation and diversity of products or services. For example, Champu Consulting provided a hotel group with an online community-based suggestion co-creation method. By inviting consumers to share and discuss their expectations and experiences of hotels in the online community, they collected and screened consumers' suggestions and ideas, thus providing the hotel group with the concept and prototype of new hotel services.

Collaborative co-creation: refers to the participation of consumers and enterprises in the development, testing and evaluation of products or services to help enterprises optimize and improve the functions and performance of products or services, so as to improve the quality and efficiency of products or services. For example, Shangpu Consulting Company provides a software developer with a collaborative co-creation method based on a collaboration platform. By allowing consumers to communicate, coordinate, and feedback with software developers in the collaboration platform, they participate in software development, In the process of testing, evaluation, etc., it provides software developers with effective software quality assurance and improvement solutions.

Communication co-creation: refers to consumers to provide enterprises with word-of-mouth, recommend, publicity, etc., to help enterprises expand the visibility and influence of products or services, thereby increasing the market share and profits of products or services. For example, Shangpu Consulting provides a social media-based communication co-creation method for a clothing brand. It allows consumers to post and share photos and videos of them wearing the brand's clothing on social media, as well as their views on the brand. The evaluation and feelings of the brand's clothing provide effective brand promotion and word-of-mouth marketing for the clothing brand.

Implementation steps and cases of 3. consumer co-creation and participation

The implementation steps of consumer co-creation and participation can be divided into the following five stages:

Determine goals: clarify the goals that the company wants to achieve through consumer co-creation and participation, such as improving service quality, reducing costs, improving efficiency, discovering market opportunities, inventing new products, improving existing products, increasing brand awareness, and enhancing brand value;

Selection type: according to the enterprise's goals and resources, select the appropriate type of consumer co-creation and participation, such as information co-creation, proposal co-creation, collaboration co-creation, communication co-creation, etc;

Design platform: According to the type of consumer co-creation and participation, design appropriate platforms, such as social media, online communities, collaboration platforms, social media, etc., in order to facilitate the interaction, collaboration, exchange, learning, etc. between consumers and enterprises;

Recruiting consumers: according to the type and platform of consumer co-creation and participation, recruit suitable consumers, such as interested, capable, creative, influential, etc., so as to facilitate consumers' participation and contribution;

Management process: According to the type and platform of consumer co-creation and participation, the process of managing consumers and enterprises, such as providing incentives, giving feedback, resolving conflicts, evaluating effects, etc., in order to facilitate consumer satisfaction and loyalty.

There are many cases of consumer co-creation and participation, and the following are some typical cases:

LEGO: Lego is a Danish toy manufacturer known for its building blocks. Lego has set up an online community called Lego Ideas (LEGO Ideas), where consumers can submit and vote on the ideas and prototypes of Lego products they want to see. If an idea gets 10,000 votes, Lego will consider producing it and listing it, while giving the creators a certain reward and share. In this way, Lego can not only discover and create new Lego products, but also increase consumer engagement and loyalty.

Starbucks (Starbucks): Starbucks is an American coffee chain known for serving high quality coffee and a cozy environment. Starbucks has established an online community called Starbucks Idea (My Starbucks Idea), allowing consumers to share and discuss their suggestions and opinions on Starbucks in the community, such as new coffee tastes, new service methods, new activity themes, etc. Starbucks will regularly select some excellent suggestions from the community and implement them, and at the same time give certain rewards and recognition to the proponents. In this way, Starbucks can not only improve and innovate its own products and services, but also increase consumer satisfaction and word of mouth.

Google (GOOG): Google is an American Internet company known for providing search engines, advertising, maps, mailboxes and other services. By establishing a collaboration platform called Google Code (Google Code), Google allows consumers to communicate, coordinate, and feedback with Google's software developers in the platform, and participate in the development, testing, and evaluation of Google's software. In the process, Google will give certain rewards and support based on the contribution of consumers. In this way, Google can not only improve the quality and efficiency of its own software, but also increase the power and trust of consumers.

The social media of Coca-Cola Journey (Coca-Cola Journey) allows consumers to post and share their stories, photos, videos, etc. related to Coca-Cola on the media, as well as their comments and feelings about Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola will select some from the media. Excellent content is displayed on its official website and other channels, and at the same time it gives content users certain rewards and recognition. In this way, Coca-Cola can not only expand its brand awareness and influence, but also increase consumer loyalty and emotion.

Conclusion

Consumer research is an important part of marketing, which can help companies understand consumer needs, preferences, behavior and satisfaction, so as to develop effective marketing strategies. Consumer co-creation and participation is a new consumer research thinking, which allows consumers to participate in the design, development, testing, improvement, promotion and other processes of products or services, and create value together with enterprises. Consumer co-creation and participation are conducive to enterprises to improve service quality, reduce costs, improve efficiency, discover market opportunities, invent new products, improve existing products, increase brand awareness, enhance brand value, etc., and also help consumers obtain their own satisfaction. Products or services, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of honor or rewards, a unique experience and emotion, new knowledge and skills, new social relationships and networks, etc. Consumer co-creation and participation can be divided into information co-creation, proposal co-creation, collaborative co-creation, communication co-creation and other types, the implementation steps include determining the target, selecting the type, designing the platform, recruiting consumers, management process and so on. There are many cases of consumer co-creation and participation, such as Lego, Starbucks, Google, Coca-Cola and so on. Consumer co-creation and participation is a consumer research method and tool with broad prospects and potential, which is worthy of the attention and attempt of enterprises and consumers.