Why Customer Participation Matters

These days, many businesses are focused on increasing customers’ positive word of mouth. But emphasizing customer participation may be a more important vehicle for generating valuable repeat business.

By Omar Merlo, Andreas B. Eisingerich and Seigyoung Auh

Most managers know that listening to customers makes good business sense. Businesses have much to gain from actively seeking and encouraging customer participation, which we define as getting customers to provide constructive suggestions and share their ideas on how to shape product and service offerings. Yet while the idea that soliciting and listening carefully to customers is old, many companies only pay lip service to it. A senior executive of a global ...

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