A Beginner's Guide to Crowdsourcing

As well as strategic partnerships, the toymaker has its own crowdsourcing platform – Lego Ideas – which invites anyone, of any age, to submit their model ideas. For concepts that get over 10,000 votes from the online community, the inventor gets to work with Lego and make the model for real. (They also get 1% of its sales.) [3]

On Lego’s Japanese site, for example, a 35,000-strong community voted to build the Hayabusa spacecraft. [4] In this way, the crowd helps Lego scope demand before they manufacture.

Invite Innovation

Amazon Studios also sounds out interest before hitting play on a production. Customers can stream free-to-watch TV pilots which they then rate - and Amazon only commissions the favorite shows for a full season.

But Amazon takes crowdsourcing further by inviting customers to collaborate. Its innovation community lets people feed back on scripts, storyboards and test-footage. [5] And anybody can submit scripts and concept videos to create one of its shows.

For example, it recently turned a TV show script ‘Blackburn Burrow’ into a digital comic for feedback on what people thought about the story. As screenwriter Jay Levy says, “This way, [Amazon] begin to get actual feedback about the story and will create something that people really get invested in.” [6]

By getting input from the crowd, Amazon goes around the traditional, time-consuming development process and lessens the chance of making a big-budget flop.

Break It Up!

You know those small tasks that take up your team’s time and creative energy? To avoid them, many organizations turn to crowdsourcing marketplaces such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk for data entry, surveys, moderating content and more.

On them, you can post ‘micro-jobs’ and a network of online workers bid for, then complete tasks for a ‘micro-fee’. [7] That way, companies get these small jobs done faster and cheaper than tasking teams, recruiting new staff or finding a traditional freelancer.

But it’s not just grunt work these marketplaces are good for. To stay fresh with America’s eating habits, USFoods uses MTurk workers to research competitors’ menus. Medical trainers C-SATS let surgeons upload videos for experts to give feedback on. And AI experts Bai du Research test computer-generated voices on real people to see if they help or freak them out. [8]

In this way, managers can take the strain off their teams by breaking complex projects into more manageable parts.

Code for Success

Because there are always new bugs to fix and ways to make apps easier to use, the software sector has crowdsourced from the beginning.

That’s why many software companies have an 'open source' model that lets anyone see, update and improve upon their code. Apache OpenOffice, for instance, is free-to-use office software with an open development process. That means anyone can report bugs, request new features and enhance the user experience.

But you don’t have to be a coder to influence apps. Some businesses are carried by the crowd. Like the community-based GPS traffic app Waze. Over 90 million users report real-time info such as police traps, traffic jams and the cheapest gas stations on your route. [9]

With so much competition in the software industry, organizations realize that direct input from customers is often more valuable than protecting a patent.

Let the Masses Do Your Marketing

For decades, advertisers have crowdsourced the thoughts and feelings of potential customers through focus groups. Modern forms of opinion gathering include online surveys and user reviews.

But now companies can go further with social media. Ben & Jerry's regularly asks customers to come up with its new flavors. And owner Unilever even asks customers to make its advertising.

Not only is this far cheaper than hiring an ad agency, but studies show that user-generated content (UGC) is more relevant and impactful than traditional ads. In a recent survey, 86% of millennials said UGC is a good indicator of the quality of a brand. [10] Unilever will show the 13 best customer-made brand films at the 2019 London Film Festival. And the winner will walk away with £7,000. [11]

By inviting customers to carry its brands, Unilever is aiming for long-term customers over instant sales. That leads to ambassadors with genuine enthusiasm who offer word-of-mouth marketing more powerful than any poster.

How to Crowdsource

Convinced by the crowd? Here are our top five tips to crowdsource effectively.

1. Be specific. When sourcing groups, say exactly what you want people to do – even if it’s to come up with something completely new. Miscommunication and a lack of planning can make a project go in the wrong direction fast. For every Lego Hayabusa there’s a Boaty McBoatface.
2. Be tactical. Nasa and Lego’s partnership shows you can innovate by opening problems to wider experts. But you don’t just get more ideas. UK charity Nesta teams up with government, academics and private companies to solve social issues – and spread the risks, costs and effort. [12]
3. Make a contest of it. Netflix ran a $1 million-prize contest to create the most accurate algorithm for its ‘recommended films’. [13] But teams weren’t just lured by the money. For the co-author of 'Designing Dynamic Contests', Kostas Bimpikis, it’s the thrill of competing that attracts people. To pique their interest, his research shows that rewarding participants at key milestones offers the best results. Leader boards and cash prizes give people credit for hitting goals and encourage others to step up and compete for the next prize.
4. Go where your customers go. Some companies get proactive to test demand for products. T-shirt makers Street Execs flipped the merchandising model where you design products, buy inventory then go to market. Instead, it posts designs on Instagram (where its customers are) and invites followers to like their favorite designs. These thumbs-up inform the next batch of Ts. [14]
5. Say thanks. Even if you don’t incentivise input, it’s important to recognize an individual’s efforts. That can be giving feedback on an idea or simply saying ‘thanks’. A recent survey found that 88% of people don’t get any response to the first idea they submit to a crowdsourcing initiative. A contributor put off by lack of recognition – or being ‘ghosted’ – may not share their next idea which nails it. As its authors say, “you can’t put a price on the right idea coming at the right time”. [15]

By crowdsourcing, you’ll step into the unknown, face uncertainty and new ways of working. But organizations from all types of industry show that it’s a risk worth taking.

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