This guest blog post was written by Mike Fretwell of Jarden Corporation, the powerhouse behind household brands like Mr. Coffee™, Crock-Pot™ and Oster™.

Bringing an idea to life requires a lot of thought, effort and research. Through trial and error and customer feedback, inventors can determine whether or not their products are viable and how to improve to best suit their customers’ needs. As companies search for new, effective methods of conducting research, more and more are turning to crowdfunding launch platforms like Indiegogo to get in front of the early adopter community and receive real, valuable feedback.

Early adopters and crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has become an ideal solution for innovators and entrepreneurs to help fund their ideas, getting their inventions and products in front of a unique community. People who are not only interested in the latest cutting-edge technology, but want to test it out for themselves are a highly targeted and specific group called early adopters. Early adopters are oftentimes the best groups to test a new product so companies can learn more about what the end user wants and adjust and fine tune their product to fit consumer needs. We are constantly looking for fresh methods of reaching our target audience of early adopters, and crowdfunding opens that door for us.

Using crowdfunding for market research

Because crowdfunding contributors and supporters represent such a unique demographic, companies are realizing the value behind testing new products on Indiegogo to gain real customer feedback. Jarden Corporation, the powerhouse behind Crockpot®, Mr. Coffee®, Yankee Candle® and many other household names, recently launched an Indiegogo campaign for the Health o meter™ nuyu™ Sleep System, a first-of-its-kind temperature regulating device designed to give you a better night’s sleep. The Health o meter™ nuyu™ Sleep System cycles through comfort-based sleep temperatures, to help you go to sleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up more refreshed. Running a crowdfunding pre launch campaign on Indiegogo gives us the visibility to the desired early adopter demographic and the opportunity to engage and communicate with their target market. The data that results from this unique form of market research becomes a powerful tool to inform marketing and business decisions for the product in the future. As we learn more about what the early adopter community wants and needs from their product, we are able to accommodate these needs and create a highly anticipated retail product.

Maximizing customer feedback

Through our Indiegogo campaign, we will gain a lot of exposure and knowledge to our target client base and receive valuable feedback regarding the Health o meter™ nuyu™ Sleep System. By speaking directly to the crowd, we are able to innovate faster, create a product tailored to customer needs and use the Indiegogo platform as a product launch tool in addition to the retail space. Regardless of campaign goals and perks, utilizing crowdfunding campaigns as a market research tool gives companies like us insights and knowledge unavailable anywhere else.

Technology has evened the playing field to allow anyone to have the chance to bring an idea to life by turning to the crowd. However, crowdfunding is more than just raising money – it’s an excellent tool for market research and customer feedback as well. Companies like Jarden Corporation are able to learn from early adopters and the community and use valuable feedback on the Health o meter™ nuyu™ Sleep System to influence future marketing and business decisions. Whether you’re a single inventor with the next great idea, or an established corporation with many successful products, Indiegogo is a valuable tool for raising money, conducting market research, gaining real customer feedback and much more.

Want to validate your own product on Indiegogo? Start a campaign now!