Outsourcing support the Enterprise 2.0 way
One of the ideas I have been thinking of lately is how organisations could semi-outsource their support structures using the web 2.0 way. There are many instances of big brands like Lego, Harley Davidson, Nokias, iPhones and so on that has a large base of fanatic fans and lovers. They talk about what they are interested in with their friends and spend alot of time understanding and exploring the products. These experts have a wealth of knowledge, possibly more than some of the people the companies hire who comes in to look for a job instead of being passionate about a product.
Previously, some of these companies tried to leverage these experts by getting them to provide feedback and innovative ideas into upcoming products. I think that is fantastic and possibly the best way to do user acceptance testing. However, I would like to extend this idea.
Other than experts, there will also be beginner and amateur users and more than likely, the lower they are the more support they need. Even though, the revenue per customer could be much lower down the ladder but due to size, it could possibly be a large amount of revenue (depending on the types of goods sold). Organisations must be able to support these customers in a low cost manner – its only logical low revenue/customer = low cost to support/customer. So what is an efficient way of supporting these people?
We surely know of the standard call centre and web support type models and they are here to stay for a long time. However, we could extend the web platform and get the more advance users to help the less savvy user. But what is my incentive for helping as an advance user? Why should I take time out to help others out of my busy schedule? Well, I can’t answer any of these, but incentives must be given. Whether its public recognition, money, new products for free/lower cost or attending a community function, I can’t say which is the best. This will depend on the types of goods sold and many many other factors.
If this could be done right, there are a few things that could be achieved. 1) Improved bonding between customers (could potentially be a double -edge sword though) 2) Brand loyalty, 3) lower cost support, 4) “keeping the money in the family” 5) generating ideas and innovation not only from experts but from everyone.
What do you think?
Levi Watters said,
I think the concept has merit and in some ways it is already happening informally. Whirlpool is a good example of where people frustrated with service often turn to Whirlpool to get an answer.
The problem with this is that this often turns into a “I hate this ISP” Why not turn this negative into a positive by hosting a forum where people can help with support. Every question you answer correctly gets you points and you can redeem these points for a lower cost for the service.
Sean Lew said,
I like it. Seems like Whirlpool just got themselves a new business model.
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