Let'S See How Muji Can Play With The Institute Of Creative Products.

The creative Institute, which is only maintained by two people, is a pit station for Muji and consumer exchanges, and has successfully guided them to complete pactions on the Internet.

How many people of 7000 kinds of MUJI products run their creative research institute? The answer is two.

Within the Japanese good planning company, which is owned by Muji, it is known as the Institute for the study of life. It acts like an informal research department to communicate with customers through physical shops and networks.

It is informal because it is not a company researcher, but a Muji customer.

Unlike consumers who generally complain about complaints, Muji Japanese customers are accustomed to log in to the website of the Institute and write their suggestions when there is nothing they want.

For example, a user named Ishikawa Kazuhiro proposed in May 27th that Muji could produce a double-layer aluminum mug.

Compared with the existing single cup, it is more warm, less scald and more suitable for outdoor activities.

That's exactly what it is.

A company expects to understand user needs.

In order to make these opinions form a friendly and complete feedback mechanism, Hagiwara Fuburo spent 5 years.

Hagiwara Fuburo, 61, has worked in the good plan for 25 years. She is a typical Japanese employee working in a company for a lifetime.

In 2009, he was formally established by the Institute of life good research, trying to discover new topics in life.

He also serves as the head of the commodity mix program, which is an inter departmental Co ordinating role.

Today, customers can share with Ishikawa Kazuhirohito the opinions directly posted on a user community page called Idea Park.

It had 3 names before. In January of this year, Hagiwara Fuburo turned it into something like this. "It looks like globalization."

All members of the community can contribute to the research and solve problems, but because everyone has their own formal duties, but also to bring the operation.

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As the earliest planner, Kimi Masaki used the authority of the president to complete the inter departmental cooperation of the Institute.

Running to fifth years, the Institute of good life has become a pit point for customer demand and commodity development.

In July, the company plans to restructure its company.

In the new framework, Hagiwara Fuburo and the general merchandise Secretary Suzuki Kei have a closer relationship.

Suzuki Kei is in charge of the whole company's production department.

This makes the internal cooperation from development to production more smoothly.

Within a week, Ishikawa Kazuhiro's proposal will go into the folder of Yung Ze bui, director of the Institute of life products, the premise is that it is not duplicated with previous views and products.

Next Monday, Hagiwara Fuburo and Yong Ze will take a package of customers' advice and start meeting with the heads of grocery, clothing, food and other departments.

In a short meeting of 30 minutes, a few people should directly judge the proposal of about 30 customers.

"Not every suggestion will make people feel good," said Nagasawa Meibuki.

At the beginning, there were many refreshing customers' opinions, but now she finds that many proposals are very similar to those already existing.

Ultimately, whether or not to execute depends on the experience judgment of different categories of people responsible for cost and user needs.

The good plan is not the first time to communicate with customers in this way.

As early as 2001, it used the Internet to collect customers' idea of bedside lighting products, then gave several different design options, and the final decision was made by the customers.

Unlike Japan's general commodity development and manufacturing companies, the good quality plan was first born in Xi You department store, and has no factories for its own.

Its buyers and commodity developers will directly choose the place of origin, so they are more concerned about material, technology, packaging and so on.

It initially offered relatively low quality goods, but in the past 20 years, the technology of various factories has been improving, production efficiency and quality are also improving, and this advantage is also challenged.

"This is why in this era, without changing the concept of development, Muji needs more consumer based product development."

In a paper, Dr. Masuda Akiko, a graduate student in Business Studies at Waseda University, and her professor, Eun Chu, analyzed this.

Yat Tien also worked in the good plan.

understand

Demand is an interactive process.

The feedback from Yung Ze buoy can make the customers who are giving advice excited, although it takes a little time.

Each proposal is processed for up to three weeks.

"The first week is the internal confirmation of the Institute. Second weeks, we discuss with the Ministry of commodity, third weeks, tell users the results."

At 7 pm on June 16th, Muir replied to Ishikawa Kazuhiro on the page of the Research Institute, and they decided to develop the double-layer aluminum mugs for one of the seasonal sales products in 2015.

In only 5 minutes, Yung Ze harvested the first potential customer.

It is suggested that Ishikawa, the initiator, eagerly comment on the excitement of the proposal being accepted in the commentary. He said he would go to the store to buy several.

This can see the user's feedback on the function of the feedback, but also from the customer's proposal.

4 months later, products designed according to Ishikawa's proposal may officially appear in the major Muji shops in Japan.

At that time, Yung Ze buds would label the proposal "completed".

These proposals from customers passed at about 10% to 20%.

For every proposal that can be carried out, Yung Ze must label the "discussion" and "development" according to the schedule. If it is an existing product or a proposal that will not be accepted for the time being, she will also label it and explain why.

Come from

Zhong Cun, the designer of Digital Farm, a production consultant, expressed his appreciation of MUJI products in his blog. "This will give rise to a feeling that" your opinions may be adopted. "

He is also a user of Muji.

Some people may even become addicted to feedback.

A customer named "TM" made 11 comments in the week starting in August 12th. Muji is considering the feasibility of 5 of them.

Communities, electricity providers and members are also connected.

MUJI Passport is a Muji product from last year's O2O (from online to offline) try, you can login through this same name App and become a Muji member, at the same time, it will push the latest preferential information, connect to online store, and most importantly, it has a set of mileage reward system.

Users can accumulate MUJI mileage by signing in and buying goods on the spot, and the reward mileage of answering questionnaires and Idea Park proposals will be much more than that of ordinary purchases.

The user of the ID for "TM", the mileage of 1100 miles (about 1770 kilometers) obtained from 11 opinions, is equivalent to the purchase of 1100 yen (about 65 yuan) merchandise.

If the proposal enters the stage of development, Hagiwara Fuburo will award TA 10 thousand miles mileage as a reward.

At the planned sales stage, they simply issued 100 thousand miles.

Mileage can be converted into cash by using MUJI Passport when shopping.

Hagiwara Fuburo also allowed colleagues from the Ministry of commodities to publish research projects at the Institute.

"When they improve their products, they will take the idea that they feel puzzled and uncertain."

Even if Fukazawa Naohito is such a designer, the final product will have personal traces.

The life research institute used questionnaires to find out the general needs and personal characteristics of customers.

Wang Hanli, a design editor at Guangxi Normal University press, said.

His Publishing House published a column in 2013.

In June this year, the grocery Department wanted to improve a bathroom rinse bag.

The product, first sold in June 2009, has a good design and user experience. Even if it is sold directly, it will not be unsalable, but Muji is not satisfied with it.

In the past 7 months, the Ministry of Commerce has split the project into 5 steps. It has imposed harsh conditions on the respondent and trial participants. Finally, 1760 questionnaires and 13 candidates have been reaped.

Progress and final reports are published on the website of the Institute website, and Muji finally made 4 important improvements based on customer opinions.

It looks like an improvement to the product, but for the 1773 project participants, it also means that it is also involved in R & D.

The project received 747 compliment on Facebook.

The various projects launched by the Ministry of commerce are as meticulous as the impression left by the company, such as stationery for left-handed persons or socks for right heels.

At the end of the report, Muji's link to the improved new product is also attached, which is the key to its ability to plate into online store purchasing power.

MUJI online store sales revenue has achieved two digit growth for 3 consecutive years.

"I understand one thing in Muji, in fact, most people are looking for ideal (exclusive store) lifestyle.

And listening is the best way to communicate.

Tsuchiya Zhenyu, a studio architect, said.

Until the 5 years of May this year, he has been writing columns for the Institute of good life and one of the researchers of the Muji home project.

In his questionnaire on home furnishing design for Muji, he asked his respondents carefully: "how much is your home TV set higher than the bed? How big is it?" "do you watch TV in bed or on the sofa?"

These patience also brought notable returns for Muji.

By the end of last fiscal year, Muji had a total of 7332 single products.

So far, 268 proposals have entered the production process.

This figure is the sum of 5 years.

Hagiwara Fuburo added that in recent years, the total number of recent adoption has been increasing due to the closure of creativity in previous years.

Hagiwara Fuburo also wants to do some guiding work, such as mining some experts to become columnists of research institutes.

These people can be architects, trainer, or people who study some kind of lifestyle.

In Japan, he has signed contracts with 3 external columnists. Each month, they write 4 columns for the research institute to show the possibilities of life.

He can package these lifestyle related concepts into exhibitions, regular brochures, and members' electronic magazines.

But he also admitted that the exhibition cost a lot of money, so Japan has only occasionally organized such activities in Tokyo Lok Ting flagship store.

The Institute of life products is no longer the original small social project. Today, the Ministry of commodity planning has put all kinds of activities into practice.