I found this really interesting post and thought that it would be a great idea to share it with you since it is so in line with the content of the “Consumer Channel Dynamics” Seminar. I hope you will also find it interesting and enjoy! It shows that customer co-creation is important not only during the product’s designing but mostly during the every day life, when the product is actually used by consumers. It is during the every-day life that customer co-creation gives value to the customer himself!
http://www.customerthink.com/blog/how_customer_co_creation_is_the_future_of_business
Kind Regards
Fay Panagopoulou
Consumer Value Creation 
Thank you Fay for posting this article!!
I think it is very important to understand how companies can activate consumers, not only from a channel’s point of view but also from a perspective related to the processes and platforms needed to facilitate this interaction. The starting point should be that consumers know. Consumers know what’s available, they have more well-defined needs and tastes and they demand for the best (because they know they can have it). One important issue raised here is the fact that “Enough value must be co-created to satisfy all involved”. Remember the first remediable efficiency concern (from Carson et al. JM 1999): joint profit. In order a new system to survive, there should be something in it for everyone. Otherwise, in the long term, there is no prospect of surviving.
Finally, I so much agree with the 10th point. As I mentioned in my comment to Sebastiaan’s post, the last word was always in the consumers’ mouths (they were deciding what to buy, or what to survive). Just, nowadays, that process has become more transparent and widely communicated.
I would be interested to hear your opinions (and by your I mean everyone who’s interested)!! Out of these 10 points, what do you think is most crucial. What else should be taken under consideration?
Dimitris
Well, I couldn’t agree more that the 10th point is the most important. I would also pick the 6th point, though, based on the article of Von Hippel which expresses how crucial a toolkit can be in the whole process of customer’s co-creation. It is common sense that a toolkit would be totally useless if given to the wrong consumers- without relevant skills or knowledge. This could destroy the whole process and give the company the wrong impression about consumer’s needs and ideas.