Asda's Carrot Cam and what it means for Indoor Play

Asda recently announced plans to become a more “transparent” organisation “run by the consumer for the consumer,” (http://tinyurl.com/yc532er.) Excitingly, this announcement begins to convey the potential for Empowered Consumers on the way in which Organisations operate.

Although “Transparency” and Consumer Reviews influencing Purchasing (and other) Activities are still in their infancy, they gain momentum with each contribution; the impact will be felt from Governments through to Soft Play Equipment, Indoor Play Centres and Weddings where Share & Compare provide people with a platform for their voice.

Regardless of the size of the organisation, I accept that the Transparency Movement represents untold potential coupled with immeasurable risk. Traditionally, organisations don’t expose their Value-Chain and internal processes to comment but Social Media has changed the game and I see limited alternatives. Unless you are Apple http://www.apple.com/uk/ your Value-Chain will soon be fully exposed and Engagement combined with considerable Added Value is the only way to thrive; Opaqueness is only an option for a select few.

As Asda seem to have decided, when people have a voice and make decisions based on reviews and Social Media / their Social Network, the best (only) response is to open your organisation for inspection and comment, to genuinely listen to customers (both satisfied and not) and become part of the conversation where appropriate .

Although Asda has perhaps started small with a Webcam that may cause drowsiness, "the ambition is to reach a point where customers can trace the journey of every Asda product: from farm to fork or warehouse to wardrobe," said (Andy) Bond, CEO of Asda; what staggering potential this has for the future Consumer – Organisation relationship!

The great news about a Company like Asda adopting Social Media to embrace Transparency is that it nudges the needle for all industries. At Share & Compare, we are excited by the possibilities of mass dialogue and personal feedback driving constant improvement and collaborative innovation; we believe the resulting scenario may determine future Organisational and Individual success.

The impact will be profound but to keep it simple, here a few things to consider if you operate an Indoor Play Centre (or any other business):

- Are there any parts of your business that you wouldn’t want a newspaper or TV station to see? If so, change them NOW!

- What are the core values of your organisation and how do these impact the operation of your business? (Note how Asda intend to install a Transparent wall to enable visibility to areas normally closed off; would a transparent wall to your Kitchen convey a message of Cleanliness / Hygiene?)

- Which parts of your business / play centre do you need to keep Confidential? (even in a Transparent world, you may still choose to protect some Intellectual Property)

- What is your Marketing strategy and what role does Social Media / Transparency play in achieving business objectives?

- What stories do you / does your organisation have to tell that will engage or inform and audience?

- What websites / social media tools are people using to comment on your organisation and Market; are you listening and participating?

- What role can your staff play in Social Media strategy (will you allow them to contribute)?

- How can you listen to the ideas and thoughts of your customers and use this as a modern day suggestion box to drive innovation?

Regardless of the size or type of your business, the rewards go far beyond those briefly outlined above; start today and learn as you go, it is not as scary as it seems.

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.

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