How to Profit From a Better Virtual Customer Environment Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Many companies have created a technology-based platforms or virtual environments customers to partner with clients in the field of innovation and value creation. With such initiatives, most companies seem to focus primarily on customers innovative contributions, paying less attention to customer interaction experience in VCE. But the experience of VCE has deeper implications - especially for customer relationship management. In this article, the authors propose a framework to help companies understand and assess customer experience VCE profile. The authors describe five clients roles in innovation and value co-creation: the product conceptualizer, designer, product tester, technical support, and product marketing. Each role has a lot to offer. However, depending on the role of innovation of customer, customer interaction, and technology used in the VCE will change. VCE customer service consists of four components: pragmatic experience (its ability to provide information), communication experience (as it promotes group discussion), the usability experience (determined by the quality of human computer interaction) and hedonic experience (related to mental stimulation and entertainment) . Drawing on examples from Microsoft, SAP, Samsung, BMW, Volvo and Ducati, the authors suggest policies and practices to enhance the consumer experience in the VCES and provide favorable results in terms of innovative management and CRM. Development and implementation of rules can help companies to improve innovation and CRM. Thus, managers should consider their VCE initiative as an integral part of their overall strategy of innovation and customer. Moreover, the cost of implementation can vary widely. Thus, companies need to be careful about the selection and implementation of portfolio strategies and practices that meet the needs of client types, they want to participate in the value co-creation. "Hide
by Satish Nambisan, Priya Nambisan Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 11 pages. Publication Date: April 1, 2008. Prod. #: SMR279-PDF-ENG