I saw a research study trumpeting the fact that consumers value "co-creation" in terms of building products. Something like 90% of consumers want a say in the matter. How is this at all insightful? I could have told you that without surveying 1,000 consumers online. People can customize their news (think Google Reader), their music experience, their entertainment, and their food easily. With a little effort they can go online and find a service to customize just about everything else. Why would it come as a surprise that they'd like some say in the design of products that will be sold off the shelf? 

For too long corporations have felt a sense of entitlement. Essentially they felt that revenues would grow every single year. No matter what they produce or put out into the marketplace, consumers will buy it. If not, they start firing employees, closing plants, eroding quality to keep the market happy. Business has become less about pleasing your customers and more about pleasing the shareholders. 

If your pool of customers doesn't like what you're selling they can vote with their dollars elsewhere. Of course they want a say. They want the opportunity to buy things they like, they need. Items that offer quality and value. Low prices isn't what is always required. Lower prices everyday don't help when quality erodes to make those prices possible. A better model would be fair prices everyday, plus some love (quality + service = love).

That brings me to the second point I'd like to make:

Businesses need to stop trying to control their brands. The best way to control your brand image is not through control. It's by offering consumer the love I talked about earlier. If they get love, they'll give it.  They'll want to talk about your brand. They'll want to write about it. They'll be the best creative department and advocate you could imagine. If, on the other hand, you do something stupid like cut corners and blow up an oil rig, all the full page articles in the New York Times won't help. You need to get your ass out there and fix the problem. 

It's generally ok to make mistakes, but you need to acknowledge the mistake and fix it. Make it right (especially when it's not as daunting as a major disaster). When you screw up, it's time to spread more love, not less. And remember, if consumers mock you on twitter or via the web, don't shut them down with your lawyers. Take the time to figure out what the problem is and fix it. Nothing silences a smart ass quicker than nothing to mock. 

It's all common sense, but so many businesses get it wrong everyday.