Idea generation
Today, business conditions are dependent on knowledge and technology, which have created high rates of competitions. As a result, organizations have realized that they do not possess all solutions, relevant information, and expertise for their problems. Luckily, some have noted that valuable knowledge resides in external sources. Based on this realization, many companies have embarked on exploiting knowledge and expertise outside their boundaries.
Professionals have linked crowdsourcing to creation of new ideas, solving technical issues, innovations, reducing costs of product development, and time for developing new products. Firms have used crowdsourcing to generate new ideas from a large crowd instead of using few in-house individuals. In fact, others have created idea contests with rewards in order to get new concepts. However, it is appropriate to define the problem as precise as possible before initiating an idea contest.
Firms must provide motivational materials for the crowd to participate in the idea generation. The crowd notes that the outcome must be more than the time and effort spent in the contest (Simula and Vuori 5). Consequently, firms have organized expensive reward systems for participant as witnessed during the LG idea contest.
Crowdsourcing contests can result into generation of too many ideas to the extent that an organization can fail to utilize or develop them effectively. While other researchers have noted that crowdsourcing concept is still in its initial stages, others have dismissed it as ineffective concept.
On the contrary, some studies have indicated that crowdsourcing ideas were the best in terms of originality relative to ideas from experts (Simula and Vuori). Therefore, businesses should use crowdsourcing to generate new ideas and solve business problems.
Market research
In market research, crowdsourcing has been useful for gathering information from a large crowd in various parts of the world. The crowd can deliver the desired results in a timely manner and at relatively low costs. Most Web sites that provide crowdsourcing services usually pay their crowds a small fee (as low as US $0.03) in order to respond to their questions.
Web sites for crowdsourcing that handle market research have increased. However, professional researchers question the kind of information collected from the crowd. It is also necessary to note that crowdsourcing has not replaced the traditional market research firms that handle complex research.
Others have noted that crowdsourcing may not be the best approach for conducting market research. It is important to note that crowds get rewards for taking part in the survey. As a result, one may wonder whether the motivating factor could influence the outcome. In most cases, it is difficult to determine whether the participant is a representative of the target population.
This is critical because organizations use market research results for generalization. Therefore, the issue of generalization and representation of the target population is a major factor that marketers must account for before using crowdsourcing. Still, firms may also find it difficult to select a crowd to participate in their market research.
However, carefully selected participants may provide the best response and knowledge that is not available within the organization. They can provide a wide range of ideas on marketing issues that can transform a brand. The challenge is that the crowd may lack the expertise, motivation, creative thinking, and the intellectual ability that is necessary for generating effective idea and solution (Poetz and Schreie 245).
Works Cited
Poetz, Marion and Martin Schreie. “The value of crowdsourcing: Can users really compete with professionals in generating new product ideas?” The Journal of Product Innovation Management 29.2 (2012): 245-256. Print.
Simula, Henri and Mervi Vuori. “Benefits and Barriers of Crowdsourcing in B2b Firms: Generating Ideas with Internal and External Crowds.” International Journal of Innovation Management 16.6 (2012): 1-19. Print.