Trifecta...

This post on the Brains On Fire blog uses a Native American saying to highlight how involving customers in the brand is the most effective way to "market" brands in today's consumer driven world.

I agree but with a little twist.

The quote is: 

“Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.” -Native American Proverb

The author Spike goes on to say that the best way to engage a customer is to involve them.  He doesn't say it explicitly but it seems he's saying that you should jump directly to involvement.  I would suggest that in order for involvement to work you really need all three.

Tell the people (consumers or employees) what your goals are.  Demonstrate (show) them what that looks like.  And finally, ask them to improve on it (involve.)  I would suggest that without the first two steps, you're asking for input and connection without context.

Employees, consumers, channel partners, all need context for the discussion.  Just opening the doors for input creates a lot of noise - making it more difficult to separate the important signals within the communication.

What we all want are consumers and employees that understand and participate in the process.