5 Ways to Optimize Your Designs for the Sharing Economy

The internet has touched almost every aspect of our lives, including what it means to “own” something. An increasing number of customers are more interested in the experience of using your product than they are in owning whatever it is you make.

While this trend has given rise to the sharing economy it does pose challenges for designers and inventors as they need to consider not only how their products are used but how they are shared and even socially connected with others. After the sharing economy isn’t just about using your product, it is about sharing that experience with the world.

Granted, what The Economist recently called “on-demand” consumption is a relatively new concept, but it is gaining steam. If you are struggling to fit your product or service for this new world, then here are five ways to optimize your designs for the sharing economy.

• Making a Match

This one isn’t rocket science, but when it comes to the sharing economy, designing for collaborative consumption is vital. As such, one of the first questions in the design process should revolve around the role of the customer – including any unconventional roles. While this might be a slight change from how most approach design, matching a product to how customers might use it is nothing new.

A way to approach this is to think of ways that smaller might be better as the smaller the product the easier it can be shared with another user. Also, keep in mind that digital products are much easier to share, and this could open the door to digitize your product – potentially by offering opportunities for users to share.

For example, if you are selling power tools, then you might want to create a platform where those who own your product can share their tools with those who don’t. Not only would this open a new revenue stream for your company, but it will help your customers to maximize the value they receive from your products.

• Customizing it not a One-off

If you are not thinking about recurring customization, then you are already behind the times. This is the concept of how a series of owners or users can mold your product to meet their needs while undoing any customization from a previous user.

When talking about physical products, recurring customization should be more than just changing panels and decals – though these steps help. To broaden the definition in application to your product then look at how peripherals can be supported. Not only does this broaden the scope of your product but it creates opportunities to interface with third-party equipment providers.

If you’re not sure where to begin, then you might want to search a parts directory such as Octopart.com.  Directories such as this are chock full of the components you will need to add to your products to make recurring customization a reality.

• Rethink Maintenance

For years planned obsolescence was a critical part of any product life cycle. Integrating this into your product life cycle meant that customers were forced to upgrade every few years – thus ensuring a recurring revenue stream.

However, the times are changing and with it comes a pivot in how users approach the product life cycle. This includes using materials that will last in an environment where changing hands is the rule and not the exception.

Also, define the maintenance model a which can easily be conducted regardless of who is using your product. A couple of ways to make this happen include making assemblies easy to be replaced and even offering extended service options.

• Multi-Player Mode

By default, the sharing economy is an environment where users are concurrently using your product. This could include work streams with parallel multitasking – for example when the same computer is being remotely accessed by multiple members of a team. As such, you will want to look at whether the product is designed to support its use in this manner.

• Focus on Experience

It used to be that customers solely chose a product based on its badge and its price. However, today’s users have access to more information than ever before. While some of this information is biased, an upside to this openness is that users have a platform to talk about their experience using your product.

For designers, this means that they not only have to worry about maintaining the reputation of their product but also tracking the user experience. While the two are closely related, a focus on experience can not only lead to identifying new markets and uses but finding influencers in these markets as well.