At the very core of collaboration is the notion of equality, the belief and understanding that the power and influence of one (any one) is of equal weight and potential to any other.

So, today I want to discuss the importance of a collaborative approach in consumer research, and in fact in any customer engagement.

Our research has found that trust in brands and companies is being degraded. Our recent study focusing on data showed only 9% are confident that businesses store and manage data securely and a saddening 26% believe companies will sell their information (this is part of our syndicated work that you can read more about here).

Couple this loss of trust with 2012’s marketing mantra:  ‘control of your brand conversation is firmly in the hands of your consumers’ and you have a strong case for cultivating consumer trust.

Businesses and companies need to cultivate consumer trust by attracting and pleasing customers who then become the brand voice. It is the customers of your brand that tomorrow’s consumers listen to, interact with, and ultimately fall in love with, or mark as not worthy of attention.

Therefore working collaboratively ensures your current customers feel valued and allows them to represent your brand positively.

So, how does collaboration work, specifically for nurturing those consumer to consumer relationships?

Branded online communities provide an excellent platform for brands to openly facilitate conversations between brand and consumer and between customers. Inviting your consumers here ensures that they are willingly and knowingly taking part (collaboration can’t take place without this!)

See the journey avoid any end points in your customer-brand relationship by inviting them to be part of on-going developments, and by making your teams accessible through social media, email, phone and face to face. No one is too important to talk to your customers or to encourage conversations between customers, every member of your staff can help link together brand ambassadors

Active facilitation it isn’t just the shop assistants who should be present in stores, the store experience could be re-invigorated with technical, research and development staff being on hand for workshops and discussions. Perhaps that would even have a two-way benefit for your innovation team.

At Intersperience we understand this well. We use the full capabilities of our online platform to convey the message that we value each individual voice: through a truly personalised service and an unrivalled interactive suite which means there are lots of interesting ways to facilitate conversations. Our modern market research blends face to face research and longitudinal studies to assist with this future relationship.

True collaboration through an openly branded community, a continuous dialogue and accessible staff demonstrates a commitment to equality and perhaps even an understanding of the future?