Today, it’s all about convenience. We pay our bills online, check ourselves out at the grocery store and, chances are, most people can’t remember the last time they actually walked into a bank. Throughout the course of a day, we interact with dozens of brands without ever encountering a single human being.

The rise of online networks, blogs, and social media tools in recent years has made it so easy and convenient for companies to interact with customers virtually, some would say the need for the face-to-face interaction is no longer relevant.

However, not all companies are taking that approach. Instead of asking customers what they think of a product, 3M Company has set up customer innovation centers all over the world to give customers the opportunity to be part of the product development process.

According to a recent New York Times article, John Horn, vice president for research and development at 3M’s industrial and transportation business, explained, “The goal is to understand what our customers are trying to accomplish, not what they say they need.”

What can we learn from all this?

Turns out we, as homeowners, might be the most important source for product development research out there. We’re the ones who are using these products on a daily basis. We know which ones delight us and which ones fall short. We know what features would make our lives so much easier, and which only seem to complicate things.

This approach is also something to consider when making important purchasing decisions. Do we want to buy our next major appliance from a manufacturer that wants us to share our experience with the product online after the fact, or one that relied on customer input from the start?

Maybe more companies in our industry will see the value in this model and consider tapping into their greatest product development resource…the homeowner. If so, we’re ready when you are.

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