Co-creation is a relatively new practice used by companies where they collaborate with the concerned parties (consumers) at all phases of production and supply of services, removing the hierarchical management approach and the linear innovation approach. This allows consumers to be involved in the process, and they get to influence the management, thus helping to create different solutions. This will create products and services that are directly influenced by the customer, where their specific needs are met, in a collaboration that works for both parties.

This is a good solution now, because no company exists in a vacuum, and every company requires the input and support of hordes of other persons and companies. The new method of moving away from set systems, into collaborative endeavours can open up many possibilities for companies, especially those that are struggling in tough economies. Smaller companies, especially, can benefit as they can draw on the lessons of larger companies with their more varied experience, by listening to what their own shareholders want. They can provide what the customer wants, rather than be saddled with non-selling products that were developed without attention to the customer needs. Providing what is needed is a great way of increasing sales for any company. Value creation is necessary.

Companies such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and FedEx use co-creation in their operations, from developing apps to ad formats to crowdsourcing. They use co-creation to generate solutions to a problem they face in the company’s operations. Lego is a great example of how a company can use co-creation to turn profits or even to reverse the tide of losses. It has used the co-creation method to better understand their clientele, and to recover from the embarrassing debacle of attempting to churn out a more “dark” product, that was ultimately a loss-making endeavour.

However, co-creation can be used for more than mere problem solving by experts or activists in a field in collaboration with a company. It can bring the general consumer new options, such as the opportunity to suggest new designs and buy off the runway. For them, co-creation can be a wonderful addition to their online consumer experience. The company should then attempt to make sure they could participate, by keeping the needed avenues open, and by investing in credit card processing for businesses. Whether you have a brick and mortar establishment or an online store, you should focus your energies on value creation for your customer, and making co-creation options accessible and available is a good way to retain customers in this new age.