Communication & contact with the brand

The following sections discuss communication with the brand, the preferred way of communicating, preferred response and participants’ opinions on sharing their ideas.

5.2.4.1 General considerations

When it comes to communicating and establishing contact with the brand, focus group participants state that having the possibility to do so is a good idea, especially due to the fact that nowadays it is “literally impossible” to contact brands directly. Uber interviewees also consider such an option to be valuable, with customer service mentioned as the first contact point. One interviewee stressed the fact that usually

“customer service is outsourced to external companies”, which makes it harder to respond to consumers’ requests. If customer service has been contacted several times and the request is still not fulfilled, one interviewee considers “going public”. Uber interviewees also mentioned that rather than simply contacting customer service, they

would appreciate the possibility of contacting the brand or platform itself, as emphasized in “more pleasant to me than a classic customer service”. However, an important criterion is that “there are people working who react directly and immediately”

(Interviewee Uber). One focus group participant mentioned being a more passive person and not considering contacting a brand directly.

Simplicity in contacting is relevant as demonstrated by the statement “important that the brand communicates that it is unproblematic and easy” (Participant focus group).

Additionally, having experience in contacting a brand or having someone else describe the process as easy are considered vital (Participants focus group). In case of an issue, the possibility to establish contact fast is vital. This was expressed as “I want the person to help me immediately” and that it usually “takes forever until you can really get in contact” (Participants focus group). One participant appreciated the possibility to get in contact with a person able to really help and change something. The importance of contacting a person of influence is also emphasized by an Airbnb interviewee in “I don’t expect that the person who is working there will be able to sufficiently answer my question”.

5.2.4.2 Preferred way of communication

Preferred ways of communicating are in writing, via e-mail, chat or a contact form online (Participants focus group & interviews). This was justified by an Airbnb interviewee as “you never know where you’ll land if you call international companies”.

Uber interviewees also consider calling, for example via a call center or a contact button in an app, as viable option. Having contact in a way that does not require consumers to go out of their way, for example requiring them to download an extra app, is especially valued (Participants focus group). Given that some focus group participants are worried that communicating via mail may not have the desired effect (as emphasized by “with e-mail you get an answer like ‘great, thanks for the idea’ and that was it”), a public forum is the preferred mode of communication. An Uber interviewee also considered forums to be a valuable way of communication. Another advantage of forums as perceived by participants is the possibility for other consumers to engage in the discussion. By contrast, Airbnb interviewees prefer to contact the

brand anonymously and mainly make use of forums when looking for information. This importance of anonymity is also stressed by an Uber interviewee. Airbnb interviewees also stated that they would not consider contacting via social media, with an interviewee acknowledging that social media is practical when searching for information. With regards to contact via social media, Uber interviews paint a different picture. One interviewee admitted not being interested, whereas the others have done it before or would consider it, depending on “how easy it is”. One interviewee also emphasized that contact via social media “might be more target-aimed than (…) customer service” as the request is made publicly visible, thus ‘forcing’ the brand to react. Another stated that writing a private message would be acceptable, however, posting publicly on their social media channel and allowing everyone to see the request would not be among the considered choices of contact.

5.2.4.3 Preferred response

A general response, simply acknowledging the request, is expected within 2-3 days. A solution should be provided within a week (Interviewees Airbnb). Uber interviewees expect a response within 1-2 days or immediately, depending on the way of communication. In general, it is important to receive a speedy and competent answer (Interviewee Airbnb).

5.2.4.4 Sharing ideas & suggestions

Contributing to and creating with the brand evokes different associations and implications, as can be seen in the varied responses among participants in the focus group and individual interviews. An Airbnb interviewee associated co-creation mainly with the participation of a wider, representative selection of consumers in the early stages of the product development process. Others stated feedback, for example in the form of reviews, as the main mode of co-creation, as evident in “if a website listens to these, it can tell what users really want“. Additionally, feedback in the form of a questionnaire, motivating consumers to fill it in by allowing them to conveniently tick boxes, is regarded as a way to contribute to a brand (Interviewees Airbnb).

When it comes to engaging with the brand in more creative ways and contributing ideas and suggestions, focus group participants are hesitant (“I don’t think I can influence

the functionality”), would not want to invest a lot of time and would only consider sharing their ideas if it was a highly relevant issue or “something bigger, that affects me personally” (Participants focus group). This tendency to share ideas, but mostly only if it affects the interviewees themselves, is mirrored in Airbnb interviewees’

responses. “I don’t see myself as the big innovator” was the statement of an Uber interviewee. One interviewee considered sharing ideas if the brand was looking for innovations, while another stated not being interested in that (Interviewees Uber).

Furthermore, focus group participants expressed that they are unsure if the brand would be interested in their ideas in the first place. Uber interviewees also stressed the fact that co-creation has to “happen on eye-level” and that they “don’t get the feeling that you are being exploited”. Communication has to be transparent and data protection and security have to be taken care of (Interviewee Uber). The preferred way to share ideas and suggestions is via mail or via a website or platform themselves, be it in the form of a contact form or a separate section (Interviewees Airbnb). Responses from Uber interviewees also stress the importance of email and contact forms or surveys, adding to these the possibility to share their ideas via a Facebook message or a tweet on Twitter “but without great expectations” (Interviewees Uber). As netnography showed, some users indeed use Facebook and Twitter in order to communicate ideas, suggestions and improvements. These range from a few simple sentences to lengthy statements posted publicly on the channels (Netnography Uber).

In general, one Uber interviewee noted that more direct modes of contact are personally preferred, for example talking directly to programmers.

5.2.4.5 Motivation to share ideas & suggestions

In-depth interviews yielded important insights concerning the motivation among interviewees to share their ideas and suggestions. Intrinsic motivation, as evident in “If I have anything important to say, I would say it anyway“ (Interviewee Airbnb), and being able to benefit from the implementation of ideas/suggestions (Interviewee Uber) are important sources of motivation. Airbnb interviewees can also be motivated by actively inviting them to participate and acknowledging their suggestions. This is emphasized in statements such as “It has to be communicated clearly and they have to respond to the ideas“ (Interviewee Airbnb) and “they have to approach me“ (Interviewee Uber).

This provides assurance that the brand really wants consumers’ insights (Interviewee Airbnb). An Open Innovation Challenge was identified as another option by an Uber interviewee. Furthermore, it is not necessary that interviewees’ suggestions get implemented, but rather to assure that they are being contemplated. In case they do not get put into practice, stating reasons is important (Interviewees Airbnb). Another method of motivation are monetary incentives, for example in the form of vouchers or goodies, which would be a compensation for the time invested (Interviewees Airbnb &

Uber).