How "Co-Creation with Consumers" and "Bikatsu Gym" faced and interacted with consumers during the pandemic
2021.06.9“Co-Creation with Consumers," one of the fibona activities in which researchers and consumers communicate directly with each other to develop products, and "Bikatsu Gym", the lesson programs for skin and facial expression based on the concept of providing experience services to consumers, were launched by the researchers in 2020. These two programs were strongly influenced by COVID-19.
★Click here to see what Bikatsu Gym has been doing so far:
- Shiseido Researchers Talks On S/PARK Studio’s New Program “Bikatsu Gym” [Special Interview]
- Event Report & Interview with Shiseido Researchers: Bikatsu Gym - ONKATSU (Warming Lifestyle) Beauty Program to Relax after a Hard Year.
In 2020, how have the members of both programs created opportunities to communicate with consumers given the drastic decline in the number of opportunities for face-to-face communication?
Hiroyuki Asahi and Tomonori Toyoda, fibona members who promote Co-Creation with Consumers, and Yoshie Higuchi, who launched Bikatsu Gym as a researcher, discussed how to deliver products and services and how to realize innovation through dialogue with consumers.
A place for communication created by holding the online event
──Due to the impact of COVID-19, many of the opportunities for direct interaction between consumers and companies were lost. What changes have you seen in fibona's activities?
Toyoda:
One of the activities of fibona, of which I am in charge, is an initiative called Co-Creation with Consumers" (w/Consumers). The concept was to have students and young people experience the prototype of a product or service and brush it up based on the real opinions that came out. The best part of the project was being able to see and hear the real opinions, attitudes, and reactions of consumers up close and personal.
During the pandemic, it has become difficult to provide a place where people can actually touch things. If people couldn’t meet with us, we had no choice but to deliver things to them. With this in mind, we began an experiment in which we delivered prototypes directly to participants in w/Consumers and then invited them to use them in an online workshop.
――When was this activity conducted?
Toyoda:
Summer 2020. Since this is an experimental product, we cannot reveal the details, but we will send four prototypes with a message and fibona original sticker, which is meant to foster teamwork as all participants are members of the fibona team, to each of the participants' homes via a home delivery service. We designed an online workshop where the participants will give a lecture on how to use the prototypes sent to them and give feedback to the researchers on their comfort and impressions of the prototypes.
As a result, we felt that we were able to achieve what we wanted to do without losing sight of it, even if it was in the form of an online project.
Asahi:
At first, I expected that there would be many inconvenient aspects of the workshop while handling things online. What is conveyed in person may not be conveyed online, and I thought there would be some frustration.
However, that was not the case at all when we tried it. We were able to have a lively conversation with the participants, and communication went smoothly. I believe that we were able to hear the real opinions of the consumers.
Toyoda:
If using cosmetics were to be described as either online or offline, I see it as a completely offline experience, something to be used through the five senses. That is why I had some concerns about holding the event online. But after holding it, I found that the benefits of it being online were even greater than my concerns. The breadth of the participants was expanded.
In our usual workshops, the venue is often the Shiseido Global Innovation Center (S/PARK) in Yokohama, so when it comes to participants, things are inevitably biased toward people in Tokyo and Kanagawa. However, when we decided to hold the workshops online, we were able to have participants from regional areas such as Aichi and Mie prefectures, as well as students studying abroad in Sydney. Different people living in different areas have completely different experiences, mindsets, and reactions to the same product, even if they are of the same generation. It was very interesting.
Asahi:
The only inconvenience I felt, compared to in-person situations, was dealing with times where the participants tried out the product and responded saying it's not quite right. If we were in person, we could just have them immediately try a different prototype and ask them to tell us their impression of it. How to cover this is an issue for the future.
Toyoda:
In last year's project, we conducted an online workshop in the summer, brushed it up from there, and then conducted an offline workshop in the winter. In the series of workshops, the same elemental technologies were introduced to the same people by the same researchers, both online and offline. Interestingly, the participants responded differently to the online workshop than to the offline workshop.
While there were some situations where the online experience brought out raw surprises, there were also things that were easier to convey because of the offline experience. The researcher in charge of the project said, "It was a great benefit for us to experience both. It is not a question of which is better or worse, but rather a good combination of the best parts of each. This is our task here.”
Small-group lesson program for the self-care method
――How was the "Bikatsu Gym" lesson program launched in 2020?
Higuchi:
Since the Bikatsu Gym is a service that involves face-to-face contact with customers, we were still affected. Fortunately, however, we have not lost any opportunities for real-life experiences.
The Bikatsu Gym program was born out of an in-house suggestion system and was originally conceived as a way for people to learn how to take care of their skin and face by themselves, a concept that will last a lifetime. In other words, the basic stance of the program is to allow self-completion, and we were able to implement this by keeping the face-to-face lessons in small groups, ensuring space for each person and lecturing at a safe distance from each other.
――However, skin care and makeup are acts that come into direct contact with the skin. Were there any difficulties in doing so in consideration of COVID-19?
Higuchi:
This was helped by a tablet application that we developed independently of the pandemic, but it has functions for measuring the left-right balance of the smile and for checking the current skin condition numerically. Even in situations where contact counseling is not possible, this app enables us to provide realistic hands-on services to our customers.
――So, you were able to secure opportunities for dialogue during the pandemic. What did you notice as a researcher in communicating with consumers through the Bikatsu Gym?
Higuchi:
For researchers, the insights we gain through dialogue with consumers are very significant. When we are pleased with our work, or when we receive comments such as, "I wish this was better," it reminds us of our original intention: what is the purpose of our research? That is the first advantage.
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Another is that communication with consumers can be a gateway to finding out what is troubling them. Not just the words on the questionnaires or the problems that come out of their mouths, but the things that they themselves have yet to express or the subtle changes in their facial expressions that make them realize, "Perhaps consumers have this kind of problem too?” I think there are many situations in which I am made aware of such problems.
For example, when I watch consumers self-measuring, I am amazed like "They are surprised at the point!" "Consumers have such a point of view!” We discover things like attractiveness and seeds of problems that they themselves are unaware of and apply them to our research. I think this is where your sense and insight as a researcher are tested.
This is only the second year of the Bikatsu Gym, but I think the members are growing at an incredible rate. Each time we have great discussions among the members. The importance of taking the viewpoints of consumers, which I have gained through communication with them, has broadened my perspective (as a researcher), and I am now able to think deeply about what kind of words can convey our message.
Listening to the opinions of consumers and tell the attractiveness of products
――What are the important skills for Shiseido researchers?
Asahi:
This overlaps with Ms. Higuchi's opinion, but I believe that the important qualities for a researcher are professionalism and observational skills.
Expertise is the ability to deepen one's specialty, discover new knowledge, and even consider how those things will contribute to the world. Observation is the ability to see how what we have created moves the hearts and minds of consumers. Through the w/Consumers initiative, I have always hoped that our researchers will hone their observational skills.
The act of receiving direct feedback on one's own ideas has a great impact on researchers. It is a great shock when a product that you have submitted with great confidence ends with a "hmmm..." (laughs).
Toyoda:
The year before last, as part of the w/Consumers initiative, we held a workshop where researchers in charge of sunscreen product development and ordinary women who run on a daily basis communicated with each other to create a product. They all expressed their opinions clearly, saying things like, "I don't like the smell," or "It feels slimy when it comes in contact with sweat.” Such reactions are fresh and informative for the researchers.
As a researcher for a manufacturer, it is absolutely necessary to be able to tell the attractiveness and value of products to customers. No matter how great your research is, it is meaningless if people do not understand it. We catch various things by observing changes in the world and consumers. From there, we express ourselves and communicate our ideas. I believe that this is the skill required of corporate researchers in this era.
Reassess Beauty through the pandemic
――During the pandemic, we have often heard people say that they have fewer opportunities to wear makeup. How do you researchers see the impact of lifestyle changes on makeup?
Higuchi:
Like myself, I very often hear people say that they no longer use lipstick because it stains their masks. They only apply foundation from the nose up. On the other hand, I have become more conscious of eye shadow and makeup around my eyes.
Asahi:
When you get on a train and look around you, almost everyone is wearing a mask. I think it is natural to feel that if your face can’t be seen, you don’t need to wear makeup.
However, one of my acquaintances said, "Makeup is not for people to see, it's for myself. So, I didn't change my makeup in any way before or after the pandemic started. I think this highlights the difference in awareness in this area. Makeup also has the effect of lifting one's spirits, doesn't it? It made me think about its value again.
Toyoda:
If we look only at the sales amount of the whole cosmetics industry, including Shiseido, I believe that the situation has been greatly affected by COVID-19. However, even within this situation, I feel that new needs for cosmetics are emerging among consumers. To give an example of a recent behavioral change of a man I spoke with, while he no longer uses hair-styling products because he has fewer opportunities to meet with others. On the other hand, his skin has become rougher due to masks, and his desire to relax has increased, so he has started to use better products and spend more time on skin care. He said that since the Corona disaster, he has become more conscious of taking care of herself rather than of making himself more attractive. I feel that we need to detect changes in consumers' attitudes in areas that do not show up in the numbers.
Beauty innovation created by consumers and researchers
――Lastly, what are your ambitions for the future?
Higuchi:
I would like to make Bikatsu Gym a place for researchers to gain new insights and create new products. I would like to create a cycle in which new things are created not only from the researcher's point of view but also through the awareness that emerges from dialogue with consumers and discussions with the business divisions. I hope the Bikatsu Gym will be a tool for this purpose.
Asahi:
I don't even need to bother with the title w/Consumers, but rather, I would like to develop products while our researchers and consumers communicate with each other in a very natural way. I would like to make such a situation the norm.
I believe that if only the corporate side gets excited about beauty innovation, we will not be able to bring about innovation that truly moves society. I hope we can achieve this ideal by making good use of S/PARK and fibona.
Toyoda:
This is the third year since fibona started. There have been many disadvantages because of the pandemic, but they were not all negative. Being able to utilize things online has really broadened our options, and I would like to further attempt to combine the advantages of being online and in person in the future.
Until now, we have been "fibona in the Shiseido Global Innovation Center," but we would like to make our activities a little more open. Customers, marketers, researchers, and brand managers will be able to intermingle and work as one team to come up with ideas. I hope to create such a system.
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Co-creation with consumers
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