NEW YORK – Your customers have a wealth of ideas for improving your business, but it's likely the secret to getting the most innovative ones has proved elusive, writes Inc. magazine in a recent article.

For instance, suggestion boxes don't generally work well because there's no incentive for customers to take time and generate creative ideas. So-called open innovation programs have potential but typically return less-than-stellar results.

Unfortunately, customer brainstorming has its limits, according to a recent Harvard Business Review article cited by Inc. Researchers found that the key to increasing the effectiveness of feedback efforts is to minimize the amount of interaction between participants. Essentially, you want some interaction, but not total interaction.

Some of the suggested methods for successfully gaining innovative – and useful – feedback include:

• Avoid clustering: Minimize situations where the same people have the same experiences. When each person providing feedback retains independence, it encourages diversity of opinion.
• Less interaction, more innovation: Don’t be afraid to try new strategies and use new technologies to get the best feedback from your customers. Researchers have used software that allows participants to participate in a focus group while preventing them from sharing their ideas with the entire group.

The most successful feedback sessions are structured to keep individuals thinking for themselves.