Corporate Crowdfunding in Practice ⑤ | How to Design Returns for Business Crowdfunding? A Framework for Connecting to General Sales
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
When a company starts a crowdfunding campaign, one of the most common questions I hear is:
"What should we offer as returns?"
For a new product, the product itself.
For a store, a gift voucher.
For an event, admission tickets.
That's a perfectly fine place to start.
But when I think about returns, I don't stop at "what can we give back."
I also consider:
Who will support this?
Why will they pay that amount?
How will they stay connected after the campaign ends?
To me, designing returns is not about lining up products —
it's about creating ways for supporters to participate.
In corporate crowdfunding, supporters rarely fall into a single type.
For a new product, for example, you might have:
Even within the same project, the reasons for supporting are different.
That's why, rather than thinking "let's create returns at ¥3,000, ¥5,000, and ¥10,000" — starting from price —
I first identify who will participate.
Once I can see the people, I design returns that fit each of them.
Before listing a long array of returns, I decide:
What is the one thing we most want people to choose this time?
For a new product, it's the core product.
For a store, it's a voucher that brings people in.
For an event, it's the admission ticket.
The clearer this "star" is, the easier it is for supporters to make a decision.
Even if you have 20 return options, people won't move if they don't know what to pick.
So the order is:
Decide on the star first, then build the choices around it.
In crowdfunding for new products, early-bird pricing — such as "20% off the general retail price" — is common.
That's certainly one benefit.
But I don't want a design where people only support because it's cheap.
There are other reasons to consider:
Crowdfunding is different from regular sales.
That's exactly why it matters to create "a reason to support here and now."
In many corporate crowdfunding campaigns, general sales follow after the campaign.
So when I set return prices, I think about the general sales price first.
I want to avoid a situation where the campaign price is too deeply discounted, and then nobody buys once general sales begin.
On the other hand, if the campaign price and the general sales price are nearly the same, there's no compelling "reason to support now" — and that's equally weak.
If the goal is to lead into general sales, I look at all of the following together when designing the pricing:
It's not just about selling during the campaign.
The pricing needs to work for what comes after, too.
For product campaigns, even the same item can be offered in different configurations:
Simply varying the quantity creates more ways for different people to participate.
Here again, the goal isn't to increase the number of options for its own sake.
It's about having the right option for:
Rather than adding more return tiers, I think about capturing the differences among supporters.
Corporate campaigns sometimes include high-priced returns such as:
But simply piling on large quantities of products to justify the price tag is weak.
Instead, I first think about who has a reason to participate at that price level:
Here too, the thinking isn't "I want to create a ¥500,000 return."
It starts with: "Who might realistically participate at ¥500,000?"
Even in corporate crowdfunding, I don't look at a price and find a person — I find the person and build the price.
One thing that's easy to overlook in return design is the fulfillment work that comes after a successful campaign.
In crowdfunding, selling creates new work.
So whenever I design returns, I always ask:
"If this sells far beyond expectations, can we still deliver?"
Don't only worry about not selling enough —
also look at the risk of selling too much.
This is especially important for companies.
Companies often already have an existing customer base.
What's appealing to existing customers and what's appealing to someone discovering the company for the first time can be quite different.
For existing customers:
For new customers:
You don't need to sell the same thing to everyone.
Let the role of each return vary depending on whose relationship you want to deepen.
That's a way of thinking that's uniquely well-suited to corporate crowdfunding.
When designing returns for a corporate crowdfunding campaign, I start by confirming:
Who will be supporting this?
What is the one "star" return we most want people to choose?
Does the pricing conflict with what will happen after general sales begin?
Who — which individuals or companies — might participate at a high price point?
Can we still fulfill this if it sells far beyond expectations?
Before laying out a long list of products, I work through these five questions.
In corporate crowdfunding, selling products matters.
But that's not the only lens I use.
Each of these is a different way of participating in the project.
That's why designing returns means not just thinking about "what to sell," but "how to let people participate."
And for companies, the participation shouldn't end with the campaign.
It should lead somewhere:
Return design that creates a relationship extending beyond the campaign.
That's the level I want to think at.
How to Design Crowdfunding Returns | Thinking About the "Thank You" That Gets Support
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