I want to go back to a comment I made that effectively started this blog:

"I think the broader issue is how we evolve large company support organisations where typically the relationship is managed by a junior member of staff and arbitrated by fixed processes? How do we build two-way conversations and trusted relationships? The organisation that cracks this first will have innovation far more valuable than any product based innovation!"

It's a big and important issue. Let's take a couple of small steps into this conversation with the issue of communities of interest. Here is a previous comment on this:

"Back in August I was intrigued how Mark Shuttleworth joined a raging and somewhat angry debate within the Ubuntu community. The latest release was crashing. Lots of emotion. Mark stood up, said to the community you're right, we messed up, and here's what we are going to do about it. Almost immediately the collective focus moved to how to fix the issue. I've seen this skill in the very best customer service reps. Listening, acknowledge the problem, non-condesending empathy and action to solve. One to one it's powerful. One to many it's gold."

Apple also has many communities of interest and, in my opinion, would be a great place to start developing stronger customer ties through two-way conversations. How might better two-way communication help with audio, video, photography and other creative professionals that rely on Apple tools and products for their craft?

MusicJon made some very interesting comments [full comments here, third comment from top]. The gist is:

"Now, the same people that worked to provide a great customer experience for Emagic work for Apple, but have completely disappeared to the end user. There is NO WAY to communicate with anyone at Apple/Emagic about issues or needs with Logic. The official Apple Logic forums have no developer or even Apple Support presence."

Looks like MusicJon uses Logic which is a professional audio production tool, as do tens of thousands of others. The commitment and investment in developing expertise to express your craft in any tool is large. These communities have a vested interests in the future of these products. I see very little downside and tremendous advantages getting the developers, product managers and support specialists from Apple to fully engage with these communities. Be that through forums, blogs, wiki's or whatever isn't really the important point. It's about the two-way conversation that makes product better and customers more productive. Logic isn't a "and just one more thing" moment in an Apple keynote, so transparency in this case looks like an opportunity rather than a risk.

Logic, and all of Apple's professional solutions, appear successful and growing in a competitive marketplace. Therefore, with this success is there a need to change current business practices? Smart business requires constant reinvention. Let me close by referring you back to the quotation at the head of this post. "... The organisation that cracks this first will have innovation far more valuable than any product based innovation!"

Do you use Apple's professional solutions? What are your experiences and thoughts on this issue?