How should consumers be involved in the innovation process?
Poccia: Bonding over beauty and fashion fosters community and brings young women together. Because direct selling is inherently participatory, it’s really natural for us to engage with our customers and representatives to create a co-branding experience. In fact, she demands it. She inspires us. She co-creates with us because we’re both a brand and a channel. So, whenever we ideate a product, our favorite expression here is, “let’s take it to the Girl Lab.” That means going to our consumer and our representative and engaging her in the ideation and decision-making process up front. This co-creation partnership enables us to bring forth products that allow for our consumers’ and representatives’ self-expression. So, she’s got a more immersive brand experience at a higher level of emotional engagement with us. Eagle: I have a strong point-of-view on this. We used to run a contest at Staples called Invention Quest, where we asked customers and employees to create new product ideas. I’m so
