Improve Products with Passion from the People
Published:
January 24 2012, 02:13 PM
by
Crystal Miceli
Last week a number of websites, including the very popular Wikipedia, shut down in protest over proposed US piracy legislation. The bills are the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), both of which are primarily focused on preventing the illegal downloading or viewing of TV shows and movies online. A very interesting effect of the website blackout protests was the impact it had on users of the sites, and the fact that it made these users aware of and invested in politics they may not have cared about before. These previously uninvolved citizens are now reaching out to their representatives to question their support for the laws, and some of these legislators have already pulled their support.
This got me thinking about the power of the crowd, and how passion can be harnessed to improve delivery of products and services.
If passion about a product or service can be generated, whether through awareness or debate, what might that do to brand loyalty? It seems that, if you feel like you can have an impact on an outcome, you become more invested in that outcome being a positive one.
These days, everyone has an opportunity to participate, via user forums, online reviews, “likes” on Facebook, etc. You should channel that input into your product’s roadmap, and make it clear to those who are passionate about your product or service that you are listening and taking action on their ideas. Then your customers are involved in your success, and will promote your products for you, in their own organizations and when they are speaking to those outside. It’s a grass roots approach, but it appears to work.
By: Crystal Miceli
Crystal Miceli serves as Sr. Principal Solution Marketing Manager for CA Technologies, specializing in Project & Portfolio Management, IT Asset Management and Service Desk solutions. Crystal has over 15 years of experience in designing and implementing IT Service Management solutions across a range...
Read More..