Imagine a planetarium-style presentation about the future of technology, followed by a tour of dozens of hands-on-exhibits- whether of sandlike microparticles that flow like liquid in a beaker, pictures that appear three-dimensional or concrete that floats. Is is the latest science museum, or a new Disney attraction? No, it is the “World of Innovation” showroom, a cornerstone of the 3M Company’s customer innovation centre at its headquarters in St.Paul. In a world of online user communities, social media, interactive blogs and other technological means for companies to elicit customer feedback, you might think that face-to-face interaction is a thing of the past. Think again.
As a company, 3M is at the forefront of a movement that appears to be gaining traction: customer innovation centres, typically located near company research facilities, that provide a forum for meeting with corporate customers and engaging them directly in the innovation process. When many people hear the name 3M, they may think only of canary-colored Post-it notes. But the company is applying wide-ranging technical expertise to a portfolio of products including transportation systems, dental and medical devices and electronics. One of its latest is a pocket-sized LED projector that connects to cellphones, PDA’s and digital cameras.
The company opened its first customer innovation centre in Sumitomo, Japan, in 1997, followed by others throughout the world, including sites in Brazil, Germany, India, China and Russia. This month, it announced that it would open its 23rd centre next year, in Dubai. The idea behind the centres is to foster innovation by combining a richer understanding of customer needs with creative links among 3M technologies. “Being customer-driven does not mean asking customers what they want and then giving it to them,” says Ranjay Gulati, a professor at the Harvard Business School. “It is about building a deep awareness of how the customer uses your product.”