The document summarizes a webcast on using social media and ideation sites to engage customers in the product development process. It provides examples of how companies like National Instruments and Verizon have successfully launched ideation sites to gather customer input and implemented customer-suggested ideas. The benefits of co-creation are discussed, such as fueling innovation, validating ideas early, and engaging customers. Tips are provided on running a successful ideation site.

1. Ideate, Innovate!Co-creating with Social Customers April 12, 2011

2. Today’s Speakers Doug Williams Rebecca Carroll Laura Feeney Paul Gilliham National Instruments @lfeeney Lithium @bladefrog Forrester Research, Inc. @DougWilliamsMHD Verizon @bcarroll7 #lithcast

4. Lithium Webcast: Ideate, Innovate! Co-creating with Social Customers Doug Williams, Analyst April 12, 2011

5. Source: http://greatfinance.org/a-product-that-doesnt-sell/ Image source: http://greatfinance.org/a-product-that-doesnt-sell/

6. Ideation kick-starts the innovation engine Image source: http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php?topic=31725.0

7. Ideation is the critical first step in the new product development process Validation of Plan Validation of Idea Validation of Project Validation of Product Is this idea worth investing time and resources? Is this project worthy of substantial investment? Does the developed product deliver value and is the business plan solid? Is the product and business plan ready for commercialization? Source: Forrester Research

8. Why invest in the collection and validation of ideas? Identify the best ideas Engage directly with consumers or customers Clarify the idea Conduct research into markets, consumers and competitors

9. Make the ‘fuzzy front-end” of development less fuzzy Kill bad ideas early…. …Which reduces wasted resources. Generate better ideas to begin with... …Which translates into more efficient allocation of resources.

10. Today, product strategists rely on internal resources for ideation The first step in the product development process is to gather ideas for new products or features. How does your team gather ideas for new products and services? (Select all that apply) Internal resource Traditional market research tool Co-creation tool Other/None of the above Source: Q1 2011 Consumer Product Strategy Panel Survey Base: 212 product strategy professionals

11. Social co-creation unlocks new opportunities to engage with consumers in product creation

12. What is co-creation? Forrester defines co-creation as: Social co-creationis the use of social media or other social technologies to enable co-creation. “The act of involving consumers directly, and in some cases repeatedly, in the product creation or innovation process.” Source: July 9, 2010, “Social Co-Creation” Forrester report Image source: http://www.12manage.com/methods_prahalad_co-creation.html

13. Today’s social technologies unveil product improvement opportunities Source: July 9, 2010, “Social Co-Creation” Forrester report

14. Co-creation delivers unique benefits Source: July 9, 2010, “Social Co-Creation” Forrester report

15. Nearly half of companies that use social media use it to influence product strategy… Do the product teams at your company use social media to engage directly with consumers in order to influence product design, product creation, and product strategy? Does your company engage with consumers (in any way) using social media? Base: 181 consumer product strategy professionals Base: 151 consumer product strategy professionals whose companies currently use social media Source: Q2 2010 Global Consumer Product Strategy Research Panel Online Survey

16. …But many focus on the low-hanging fruit Source: Q1 2011 Global Consumer Product Strategy Research Panel Online Survey

17. Ideation sites give product strategists access to customer-led innovation

19. 56% of willing co-creators are agnostic about product, service and brand

20. 67% of willing co-creators are concerned about the time commitment

21. 63% of willing co-creators require some form of incentiveSource: North American Technographics® Consumer Technology Online Benchmark Recontact Survey, Q2 2010 (US) Image source: http://www.clker.com/clipart-2839.html

22. …And they are interested in co-creation across diverse industries Please rate your level of interest in participating in co-creation efforts with respect to the following industries. (4 or 5 on a scale from 1 [strongly disagree] to 5 [strongly agree]) Base: 2,432 US online consumers willing to participate in co-creation Source: North American Technographics® Consumer Technology Online Benchmark Recontact Survey, Q2 2010 (US)

23. How can an ideation site help your company succeed? Provide fuel for innovation Collect ideas that would otherwise be shared elsewhere Act as a validation tool Speed up the product development process Give consumers an opportunity to help their favorite brands

24. Thank you Doug Williams dwilliams@forrester.com @DougWilliamsMHD +1 781.631.2948

25. About your communities. #lithcast

27. Ranked #1 Community in industry, 6th overall for consumers by ComBluSource: State of Online Communities report, November 2010

28. Verizon Social EngagementA Sampling

29. NI Facts NI first launched forums around 1999 LabVIEW Idea Exchange launched in July 2009 More than 150,000 users Idea Facts: 100 ideas submitted/mnth 400 comments/mnth 2000 votes/mnth

30. Recognition 2008 Supporting Category Winner: Nerd Network: Building an Online Community for Developers 2010 Embracing Category Winner: Embracing our Customers for Software Development #LithCast

31. Why ideation / co-creation? #lithcast

32. Idea Exchange: Open Innovation

34. Facilitate customer-driven product/service enhancements or new products/services

36. What results have you seen? #lithcast

37. Results 14 Ideas implemented in LabVIEW 2010 NIWeek 2010 included a video of idea authors sharing their thoughts about their implemented ideas Feedback-Driven Improvements were part of the overall marketing message for the 2010 launch 13 Ideas currently “In Beta”

39. Number of ideas in progress: 200

41. 403% growth in votes

42. 555% growth in visitors

43. About Lithium The Lithium Social Customer Suite helps great companies turn social customer passion into marketing, product development, and customer service assets. The Lithium Social Customer Suite offers complete social monitoring, a comprehensive community platform, and actionable analytics across millions of blogs, forums, and social networking sites. For market leaders such as Best Buy, AT&T, Research In Motion Limited (RIM), Univision, and PayPal, Lithium is the leading provider of social customer solutions that deliver real business results. www.lithium.com. #lithcast

44. About Lithium DeepEngagement Social Science Social Success Rich data for analysis, benchmarking, and optimizing your social investments. Driving real business outcomes. Great experiences for your most passionate contributors—your superfans. www.lithium.com.

45. About Lithium Lithium is Number 1 in: Current offering Features Strategy Clients November 2010 “The Forrester Wave™: Community Platforms, Q4 2010” www.lithium.com.

46. Lithium Resources 37 Best Practice Ideation Gartner Magic Quadrant for Social CRM Q3 2011 Forrester Wave for Community Platforms Q4 2010 The Lithium Social Customer Suite Lithium Community Platforms Lithium Social Media Monitoring Lithium Customer Intelligence Center LevelUp for Facebook