Solution Sourcing Methodology and Best Practices

How do you benefit from it?

The potential benefits include:

• receiving good ideas and suggestions from many sources including experts and potential customers. You could even find interested people willing to work with you as partners with the implementation of your ideas.
• finding answers to problems and getting input for creative work from a large audience with varied interests and expertise including experienced professionals, business coaches, expert volunteers and artists.
• creating opportunities for your potential customers and interested knowledgeable people to give you feedback on your planned or existing products and services and they might even promote your business.

What you do?

• tap the power of crowd intelligence and get input from others in developing your ideas for a viable business, targeting a new market sector, searching for a marketing channel, etc. You can post an idea and invite others to participate in refining or expanding it by adding comments or building upon comments already submitted by others.
• broadcast a business problem, or a requirement for creative work to many interested people and request their input.
• poll or survey the crowd for market demand and requirements for a product or service, or you could simply post an opinion seeking question.

How does it work?

1. post your ideas, questions, challenge, problem or requirement you have for which you are seeking input. You can add a video or a slideshow to your post.
2. the discussion/comment thread will allow people to respond to your request by posting their suggestions and comments, expanding on other’s or/and vote up or down other ideas.
3. you will get to see the rated ideas and suggestions and make a decision what to accept or reject.
4. you can set up a poll to highlight the popular responses.
5. you can set up a survey to gather opinions to specific questions.

How to get the most out of Solution Sourcing?

• make your pitch short and interesting
• provide contact details
• provide adequate background for your idea, problem, requirement
• describe the idea, question and request and any constraints on the desirable response such as the timing
• use a slide show or video to make more impression
• offer incentive(s) for top suggestions, solutions, input, etc. as applicable.

Incentives for solution sourcing can be intangible such as an opportunity to participate and contribute to topics of interest, ego gratification or recognition, or it can be tangible such as cash, prizes or samples, However, it is a good idea to plan for and provide incentive(s) for the crowd to take time and respond.

To help others with their ideas, problems or requirements, visit the Solution Sourcing Center

Post your own business needs and get users to help you

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