In this post, Evens, our tech frantic, shows you how innovation and user are inseparable at Kimpex!

While reading these lines, you will undoubtedly have a negative or positive opinion on this text. But you will certainly not be indifferent. Will you keep your comments to yourself? Most likely, but I suggest you share them with us.

Innovation and user

We can criticize, not like, like, be disappointed, be happy; but if we keep all these comments to ourselves or for our inner circle, it does not really benefit anyone.

Taking the time to report good comments does so much good to those who receive them.  And inversely, commenting on bad experiences can hurt, but can also do much good… As long as these comments lead to a solution to improve the experience lived for future users, customers, consumers…

''Angry users are your best friends''

This is what Matt Bilotti, a regular collaborator to the Hubspot, blog, said in his text on customer-driven development. Source : (http://product.hubspot.com/blog/customer-driven-product-development-understanding-what-the-customer-really-wants)

It is thanks to the disappointed users that speak up that certain businesses find faults in their products and services. It is up to them to rectify these faults and to transform these negative users into positive users.

Their comments will thus help you to improve your products and the good comments that will follow will help the next buyers make their choice.

An informed consumer is worth 2

A Chinese proverb says: 

''To know the road ahead ask those coming back.''

It is quite simple to understand. To know what is coming, what could happen to you, what will and/or will not, ask the one who has already travelled it, he will know!

For this reason the majority of buyers get information from among those who have already used the product they wish to acquire. The online product reviews and the testimonials also serve to reassure and inform the next visitors.

The customer is the ultimate judge

When you read that, according to a Nielsen study, nearly 70% of new products are considered failures right from their first year, we must ask ourselves if the process of creation, innovation and/or marketing is faulty. The blame does not only lie with the product.

But when we think of product development and begin to understand that it is the consumers who, at the end, are the ultimate judges of a success or a failure… Would it not be better to include them in the development and innovation of products!  This is what many major brands did, such as:

• My Starbucks Idea :
  A concept which consists in asking the public for innovative ideas pertaining to products and marketing.

• Do Us a Flavor!
• A monster contest in which the public can develop a new chip flavour.

• Innovation http://www.ab-inbev.com/innovation.html
  An  internet site that reports on innovations coming from consumers and/or where the business reveals its problems so that the community can find possible solutions.

*The logos and names of Starbucks, Lays and Budweiser / Anheuser-Bush  are registered trademarks.

All these companies have profited from this strategy to innovate, but also to boast their notoriety. Did you know that simply reading consumer comments, without having to create a social storm or a media eclipse, may as well gives you clues to find ways to innovate and improve?

We want to hear from you

For some time now, Kimpex has placed the customer at the centre of its strategic decisions while keeping its retailers in mind. Numerous concrete examples will help you understand what it means.

• Several times a year, our marketing research analyst travels the country to create focus groups to take the pulse of users for certain products on their way to market.
• This same analyst attends events and visits retailers to survey consumers’ wishes and their needs to be fulfilled in practicing their favourite sports.
  
  
• In partnership with our suppliers, we set up ‘‘crowdsourcing programs’’ in which the consumer dictates the development of certain products.
  
  Example: Design your ride. 
• With the help of influential people who have access to a huge user network, we speak with consumers directly on social media.
• On our internet sites, we offer the possibility of leaving us comments and testimonials which we read attentively
• We are always connected on social media in order to interact with you.

It is for this reason that I make available to you, the testimonial report form on the www.kimpex.com site so you can share your experiences with our products.   Certain experiences are such that one of our products has saved lives, others are simply “thank yous” or congratulations. Whether they are positive or negative comments, as long as they are constructive, everyone benefits.

So, if you have a testimonial to share regarding one or another product distributed by Kimpex  (see the list of brands distributed by Kimpex), let us know by filling out this short form.  Your testimonial could be published on the site and will surely help us to improve other consumers’ experiences.