Comment Cards 2.0

If you have picked up a Starbucks coffee lately and noticed that there is a new little gadget in place to ensure your drink does not spill out of the hole cut in the lid, then you have already experienced a customer inspired innovation that cost the company the grand total of $0.We live in a time and place where often consumers complain that companies do not listen to them or that their collective voice is not heard. While I do not claim to know anything about the Coffee business and to be honest, I do not even drink coffee (I am much more of a soda guy myself) Starbucks has caught my eye with their My Starbucks Idea website.

The idea is simple enough, give your customer’s a platform from which they can proffer ideas and suggestions about how to improve everything from their breakfast options to having a shelf in the bathroom to put your cup on. It seems as though consumers are really engaging with the site and they’re no dummies over at Starbucks, they are taking the time to not only listen to the ideas, but to respond and implement the best ones.

While the site has only been up for about a month, there have been hundreds if not thousands of suggestions (some ridiculous and some ingenious) and as important there has been a ton of feedback from consumers and Starbucks Corporate on the ideas put forward. As of today Starbucks already notes that they have twenty (20) of the ideas being implemented or at least tested in stores.

From a business perspective, could anything be simpler yet more innovative at the same time? Your consumers are often the best source of suggestions and insights that you being so close to your product end up missing. Many of the ideas have the potential to be revenue generators and the others will no doubt please many consumers.

Startbucks has often talked about its relationships with its customers and the idea of creating a consumer based culture, I can’t help but think this is a tremendous example of both.

Tags: Branding, Customers, Feedback, Starbucks

This entry was posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 1:54 am and is filed under Asides, Branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.