Consultants, focus groups and research only have so much power when it comes to meeting customers’ demands. Thanks to social media, companies now have a direct line of communication with the people who use their products and services.
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky spent Christmas night on Twitter after he posed a question to his followers: “If Airbnb could launch anything in 2017, what would it be?” The tweet transformed into a thread of brainstorming, troubleshooting and partnership-building for the home-sharing marketplace.
If @Airbnb could launch anything in 2017, what would it be?
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) December 26, 2016
Some followers pointed out gaps in the booking specifications.
@bchesky @Airbnb A feature that tells you if the hosted place has a private bathroom, unfortunately none of this info does so accurately ? pic.twitter.com/8EVawPg12s
— Moaaz Sidat (@moaazsidat) December 26, 2016
Chesky engaged with many of the respondents.
@moaazsidat you are right, will fix
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) December 26, 2016
He was one step ahead of some users. His Twitter brainstorm session doubled as a way to gather ideas and promote forthcoming projects.