Can co-creation lead to product innovation?

From left to right - Mr. Pradeep Narasimha, Mentor and CEO, Promotions and Premium Consultant Ltd. , Mr. Sundaresan M, Head - Retail Credit Underwriting, from a leading private sector bank, and Mr. Neeraj Agarwal, Co-founder - SkillNet Advisors, Marketing Strategist and Management Trainer, at the Business Standard Smart Business event, held on 21^st April 2013 in Mumbai in association with SIES- CEMRD.

The panel discussions had kicked off with Mr. Sundaresan M, Head - Retail Credit Underwriting, covering co-creation with consumers in the service sector and the challenges faced by marketers in co-creation. He agreed that co-creation in service sector is comparatively more achievable as they have direct contact with consumers, whereas co-creating a product is a challenging task. When the marketers are able to convert the product into a service experience, we can say they have achieved co-creating standards.

Mr. Pradeep Narasimha, Mentor and CEO, Promotions and Premium Consultant Ltd. cited the examples of Indian industries that co-created values with consumers.He also discussed the importance of co-creation and methods employed. According to him, co-creation is a legacy concept deep rooted in Indian culture, where in a family a mother consults each member of the family as to what kind of food they would prefer. Similarly marketers can consult the consumers and have insight in developing or changing the product, which can be welcomed and accepted in the market.

Mr. Neeraj Agarwal, Co-founder - SkillNet Advisors, Marketing Strategist and Management Trainer, stated that co-creation is equally essential for internal customers. He also discussed how marketers can use qualitative feedback from consumers for product modifications. In his speech, he conveyed that co-creation is a mindset. It is a contract between the marketers and the consumers.