Why Singapore bosses must learn to 'go with the crowd'

Singaporean business leaders are rapidly growing acquainted with the benefits of crowdsourcing, an innovative way of outsourcing work to communities on the Internet.

Just this past June the city hosted its inaugural Crowdsourcing Week, yet, according to marketing and public relations professional Walter Lim, editor of the business blog Cooler Insights, the trend has been slow to catch on throughout much of Asia (https://crowdsourcingweek.com/is-crowdsourcing-rocking-your-world/).

Lim writes that business in Asia is driven primarily by personal relationships, which can make crowdsourcing a tough sell. Moreover, the freelance market is underdeveloped, with most people viewing work “as a place to go to rather than the activity they undertake.”

Many small business owners wonder what can the crowd do for me? A lot, actually.

Small business owners stand to gain more from crowdsourcing than almost any other group, especially when it comes to sourcing creative services. It allows them to draw on outside expertise without worrying about racking up exorbitant charges. It also saves owners time and capacity, so they can stay focused on their core business.

Crowdsourcing is quicker, less expensive, easy to execute and offers business owners far greater choice than working with a single freelancer or creative agency. Put another way: Everybody needs business cards. Businesses do not need to spend a fortune or months of time commissioning them from a traditional design firm or agency.

What types of creative work should small business owners consider crowdsourcing? Here are five ideas:

Logos. Small businesses often make the mistake of using a poorly designed logo. This is a costly error since the logo is one the core element of any brand. A good logo builds trust , communicates value, and provides brand cohesion. With crowdsourcing, businesses have the opportunity to see logo ideas from dozens of designers before committing to the one that will represent the business to the world.

Websites. A website is the online home of your business. Who wants an uninviting, unattractive home? No one. Small businesses can use crowdsourcing to leverage online communities of designers to create landing pages, blog themes, website and blog headers, email templates, icons and buttons. A high-quality creative crowdsourcing service can even offer you a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the submissions you receive.

Marketing materials. Flyers and brochures help you publicize your business to potential customers but when poorly executed they can easily look amateurish. Instead of using generic templates that resemble those your competitors use, why not use crowdsourcing to receive custom designs for your own materials? It’s an opportunity to stand out from the crowd with exciting, quality design work.

Stationery. First impressions are often formed with a handshake and exchange of business cards, or when a letter arrives in the mail. Unfortunately, many small businesses make the mistake of printing cheap-looking cards and stationery in order to save money. Again, this is an opportunity: Unique cards and stationery can help you more effectively promote your brand, product or service. And through crowdsourcing, the only cheap aspect will be the price.

Banner ads. Banners ads on the Internet work the same way as traditional display advertising in print with the added benefit of telling the advertiser how many people viewed and clicked on the ad. These ads act to entice the consumer to choose the product or service being marketed and crowdsourcing is a great way to source this collateral at a very reasonable price point. Effective banner ads can substantially improve your click-thru rates and conversions.

The possibilities of creative crowdsourcing are endless and can be tailored to meet a variety of marketing needs. As more business owners in Singapore and other Asian countries experiment with the process, they will discover the benefits for themselves.