Is Crowdsourcing Right for Everyone?

And if so, how can B2B startups and enterprises use it to their benefit?

When Waze launched their crowdsourced GPS navigator, they revolutionized the transportation market in many ways, using driver-reported interactions to determine real time driving conditions. Google quickly recognized the unique value in this and in 2013, acquired the hundred-person startup for $966 million.

Since then, crowdsourcing has grown as a model, and many companies are looking to crowdsourcing as the stepping stone to success. Uber, one of the most well known unicorns in the world, relies on crowdsourcing to connect people with cars looking to make money with people looking to get places faster and for less money than taxis.

Crowdsourcing success is not only for B2C startups, though. After all, any company can benefit from more data and broader reach. Here we break down how B2B companies can use crowdsourcing to innovate and grow.

Start with the Small Stuff

Many believe that crowdsourcing is reserved exclusively for startups, and more specifically, for startups who operate in the B2C space. Today social aggregators who use the power of the crowd to their advantage dominate the startup scene. Some companies, like Wikipedia and WordPress, offer entirely open platforms in order to let anyone and everyone impact the end result.

While it may be easier to gather information from end consumers as a B2C startup, B2B startups, and B2B enterprises for that matter, can just as easily leverage crowdsourcing tactics to their own benefit. Instead of looking to crowdsourcing as a business model to rely on, B2B companies can turn to crowdsourcing for the small stuff, as a way to pool together new ideas.

One of the most notable examples of B2B crowdsourcing is Docker, the open sourced container unicorn that is currently worth $1.3 billion. A few years ago they needed a new logo and instead of going for a branding agency with big names and big clients behind them, Docker chose the crowdsourced platform 99Designs in order to pool together potential logo designs. Eventually, Docker polled 50 people from their own community, asking them to choose between the 84 logo submissions they received. The winning design from that community poll is the one docker users know and love today.

The end result was a logo that cost a fraction of the price a large agency would charge, and that was chosen by Docker’s own community.

B2B Startups and Enterprises Need Marketing Too

Crowdsourcing data and using the power of the crowd to distribute information is a great tool for marketers – and yes we’re talking about B2B marketers too!

As a B2B startup or enterprise, crowdsourcing feedback from customers and relevant communities can be a great way to understand customer needs in a better and more in-depth way. Directly asking customers what they think, what solutions or features they would like to see and what ideas for improvement they have, companies can get ideas on how to enhance their product or solution. Those suggestions can be used to upsell their new technology to other customers who may need it, as well as retain the loyalty of existing customers.

When looking to the crowd for feedback or ideas on what innovations should come next, larger enterprises may even have an advantage since have a larger pool of potential and current clients to ask for feedback from.

View Crowdsourcing as Collaboration

At the end of the day, crowdsourcing can be and should be viewed as a collaboration – something we already know B2B companies are good at doing via coopetition with competitors.

When enterprises work with other enterprises or collaborate with B2B startups, the result is a pooling together of ideas in order to get the best possible outcome, much like crowdsourcing aims to be.

By creating an inclusive conversation between enterprises and B2B startups, the end result will be better products, stronger solutions and more effective innovation.

Looking for more B2B growth tips? Check out our post on The Importance of Staying Agile.

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