A world of feedback

We are experiencing a rapid increase in the availability of technology-driven products that facilitate a platform that we will interact with on a daily basis. The suppliers of these products are also providing us with an expanding array of channels to provide feedback and give our opinions of the quality of the solution and the experience.

If I look around in my own home, we have several games consoles, interactive TV screens, computers, smart phones, e-book readers - all providing plenty of opportunity for interaction and of course distraction! I'm going to focus on one of these products, our x-box 360, that is used as a multi-media entertainment unit - we use the console to watch and experience films, listen to music, play games and also interact with friends online (using the x-box live subscription service). If we look simply at the games element, we can connect to x-box live and experience a games marketplace - allowing us to watch previews of upcoming games, download trial versions (the online version of the traditional 'try before you buy' approach), view the customer feedback ratings of games we might be interested in purchasing and, of course, rate our experience of the games we own.

Our x-box also allows us to connect with friends and also people we don't know (although we can and do control the extent to which our younger children connect with 'strangers') but may have a shared interest - such as owning a particular and encountering that person in a multi-player environment. We then also have the opportunity to not only join this online community but also to rate the 'quality' of people we connect with and file a complaint if we find their behaviour to be inappropriate.

Given all of these feedback tools, you might be expecting my family to be avidly rating the games we play, media we access and online associates we connect with. But none of us have ever used these feedback tools! The process appears to be simple enough but what do we get in return for providing our feedback - not a lot. We probably consider that our rating of the game will have little impact if any - there is no sense of reciprocity being achieved. We are also not going to illicit a response from the producer of the game and neither are we going to have an opportunity to vent about a poor experience because there is no facility for sharing our verbatim comments.

If we compare this to the app markets on smartphones, we see a different proposition - and effect. If I am checking out the latest apps on the Google Android marketplace then I will be reading both ratings and the comments left by other customers alongside their rating of the product. I'll also be happy to see some criticism if I can also identify that the app designer is addressing those concerns. The process of rating and providing feedback is also slicker. I'm often reminded whilst using the app to leave my feedback and will occasionally do so - especially if I have encountered a problem and want the problem fixed. Here we see that a greater sense of reciprocity is achieved.

However, game producers do listen and act on the feedback of their core customers. Game producers are responsible for developing incredibly complex products that involve the management of vast resources to deliver the millions of lines of code. Indeed, the production of top games now resembles film production - screen writers, actors and musicians all increasingly involved in the process of delivering the multi-media gaming experiences. This games industry makes $50bn a year worldwide and an estimated one third of UK adults are now active consumers within this market.

Customer loyalty is very important given how important the concept of brand is to games - and the value of the associated premium content and add-ins. Game producers understand that a successful game will build a thriving online community of gamers that will be capable of inspiring future development of the game and expanding the customer base through positive word of mouth and sharing of positive experience but also quickly highlighting problems and defects. The produce will make sure that games are heavily play-tested before release and targeted groups of actual customers are also often involved in rigorous testing prior to official release but - remembering the complexity of these products - faults and defects are likely to exist in the product when fully released but the gaming community will identify and report these - and if not having a significant impact on the overall game experience - will be sufficiently forgiving if the producer reacts appropriately. Gamers will also provide their feedback on 'game play' - a more intangible element that is difficult to quantify but has a considerable impact on the overall gaming experience.

The challenge for game producers is to continue to listen to the community, respond to concerns, distribute fixes and improvements, define acceptable and unacceptable behaviours - if the producer hosts the community (such as providing online forums for games to join) - but not to take control of the community or ignore the community. If a game producer loses the trust of the gamer community then the reputation of the brand is quickly tarnished and loyalty eroded.

Therefore, if we have little or no attachment to a product - as in my family where we enjoy playing games from time to time but consider games to be disposable items - we choose not to use the product again. We simply don't continue playing those games that give us little or no enjoyment. We do rely on our own research of review sites and magazines - therefore, successful game producers rely on those communities that bring core gamers together and provide a platform for them to provide feedback and drive product improvements. The game producer needs to understand how to effectively interact with a community and to become an important part of that community rather than controlling and managing the community. The business value is that the community will be a loyal and trusting community of customers that will purchase subsequent offerings but also be a direct source of feedback and quality assurance.

Outside of the gaming industry, we are starting to see other business models develop and attempt to bring the consumer closer to the core of the product design process. In the telecoms industry, Giff Gaff have been incredibly successful with their community driven business model that offers community members a free SIM card - but no hand set - that provides them with access to cheaper mobile calls and texts. Many members also earn revenue by recruiting new members (£5 for every member recruited) or earn payback points for helping other members in the community - therefore, the community actually takes on some of the customer service aspects of the business.

In the finance industry, First Direct is taking some steps towards getting customers more involved in the development of new product offerings. First Direct will be involving customers in the design process for a new web site but will also get customers to give their opinions on a new mortgage comparison application for smartphones. The company are launching a "First Direct Lab" to share information about developments and collect customer opinions.

First Direct's marketing head, Paul Say, says that the feedback the company gets from consumers could drive decisions about developing new products and services.

"Social media conversations can go anywhere … the real test is taking feedback and translating that into ideas," Say said.

Business has been told for many years that customer feedback can be a vital source of information that a business can tap into and use to drive both product and service improvements. New technologies provide business with new opportunities to engage also with communities of customers that are able to discuss and debate products and new offerings and provide feedback on what needs to be improved. However, all of these are only successful where a company also shares with those communities how their feedback has been considered and acted on. When we complain about a product problem or a service failure, we expect the company concerned to listen and address our concerns and hopefully take action to prevent the problem from happening again. This provides us with a sense that our feedback is reciprocated and communities also need to achieve the same level of reciprocity.