Customer engagement crucial for future product development

Tier-2 cities to drive digital printing growth

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Manoj Kumar, senior vice president and CFO of Ricoh India

Leading imaging solutions provider Ricoh India organized a road-show in Jaipur on 5 and 6 March 2014 to showcase its latest expertise in the digital printing domain. Speaking about these road shows, Manoj Kumar, senior vice president and CFO of Ricoh India, says, “It is our constant endeavour to keep our customers abreast of the latest concepts, solutions and product offerings at Ricoh, and these road shows provide the right platform for fruitful business interactions.

Today, the customer is not looking for standalone printing, but requires a holistic print management solution from us to have greater integrated efficiency throughout the production process.

” Over the years, the company has integrated all its production solutions under one roof for easy customer access. Ricoh India has been successfully organizing road shows in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, and will hold more such events in tier-2 cities where digital printing is fast gaining ground.

The company supports its partners through in-shop branding, customized consumer events and promotions, lead generation and partner schemes. “A customer would always prefer to have a live demonstration of the machines he is willing to purchase and watch it during operation.

Each of our business units has unique offerings on display and the customer can have a first-hand experience of all that we offer during such road shows,” says Kumar. The Jaipur road show is being organized by the production printing division at Ricoh and is aimed at high-end and low-end customers alike.

The road shows provide the customers an in-depth idea about the success stories of Ricoh in India and abroad. The company displayed its entire range of high- and low-end production printers for printing and publishing at Jaipur which, Ricoh envisages, is a market with enormous potential for digital printers.

“Tier-2 cities are witnessing a growth in demand for digital printers as customized printing requirements are on the rise. With the rising income levels in these cities, people are willing to spend on quality which boosts regional demand. It is very important to understand the specific needs of our customers – both existing and potential – in order to provide them the machine as per their exact requirements.

During the road shows, we engage our customers in understanding their printing needs which goes a long way in product development,” says Kumar. More than 200 potential and existing customers took part in the Jaipur road show, and Ricoh expects a substantial increase in its market base in such cities.

“Road shows are clearly the road ahead for our company to generate awareness in the market. We will be organizing around 5 to 6 road shows every month and in 2013-14, we have already organized around 55 to 60 such shows across the country. The results have been stellar and our efforts have been successful,” says Kumar. Earlier in February 2014, Ricoh launched its new 360° experience in Delhi which is a unique exposition of cutting-edge technologies aimed at enhancing office productivity by integrating solutions in document management, IT services and communications.

Kumar says that the Ricoh 360° is an interactive initiative for the company. “With Ricoh’s technical expertise and unparalleled service support along with a strong channel network, we are able to comprehensively fulfil our growing customer demands at all times. We want to empower our customers with the best-of-breed technology which helps them to evolve and grow their business with a competitive edge. 

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