Pros
You can get good ideas fast
People are happy to share ideas, and it's usually because they’re looking for some relief from a dreary day. Even more, because people see your problems from a different perspective, their answers or solutions will often solve the problem more effectively because they haven’t been limited by biases or conventions.
Promotion and marketing
You are generating interest in your future product/ service solution in your organisation. Meaning you are building a stronger, more loyal, and more significant community of would-be customers and advocates for your business. You also will have some great stories to utilise in your marketing strategy.
You can get people working for you for a tiny sum.
Challenges or competitions don’t cost much - it can be as little as the platform cost (usually a subscription for the year) and some small prizes. Funnily enough, most people enter these for curiosity and recognition versus remuneration. Think recognition versus reward.
Here are some of the top crowdsourcing sites at the time of writing
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Conclusion
Crowdsourcing can be worth pursuing if you're short on time and resources. However, if you want to make sure you're not wasting time sorting through endless ideas. Have an objective sorting process, be specific about what type of ideas you want and any conditions of what they can or can't do.
Finally, think of getting your community to self assess their ideas for you, by asking them to consider how the idea solves the problem, how easy it will be to implement, and the possible return of investment.
I hope this helps. Feel free to reach out for some group or one-on-one mentoring support to help you innovate.
Cheers,
Nils
Nils Vesk