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Jill Gaynor
Senior Director, Business Development
Hamilton Beach
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., one of the leading distributors of small kitchen appliances in the U.S., seeks to develop and market products that address consumers’ “real-world” kitchen challenges. Whether it’s keeping home-brewed coffee hot enough for a second cup later in the morning, blending fruit drinks for two kids with very different tastes, or delivering slow cookers with spill-resistant lids for travel, Hamilton Beach products aim to satisfy a specific consumer need.
Hamilton Beach Senior Director, Business Development, Jill Gaynor reports that in order for her company to deliver what consumers want, she and her colleagues rely on NPD to understand what consumers are buying today. She also analyzes what would make consumers’ lives easier, and where opportunities exist. Here, Gaynor shares her thoughts on what NPD information and insights help Hamilton Beach accomplish – and their particular value in today’s tough economy.
NPD Insights: From your perspective, what have been the greatest benefits of using NPD market information?
Jill Gaynor: With both consumer panel and point-of-sale data available to us, NPD provides one of the broadest views of what’s really going on in the marketplace, especially for durable products. The information is a powerful tool, both for internal decision-making and for use in selling our products to our major retail partners.
NPD Insights: What kinds of business challenges has NPD market information helped your company resolve?
Jill Gaynor: We rely on NPD data to help us focus our development efforts by ensuring we don’t miss emerging trends. It allows us to confirm we’re putting our resources into areas that are large enough to justify the payback.
One specific example is that sales in one of our largest categories decreased dramatically across the market over the last year. NPD data helped us dig into the trends in this category and look at related categories, as well. This helped us understand why we were seeing the declines and where the business had shifted. This, in turn, helped us move our product development pipeline in a new direction.
NPD Insights: How widely is NPD information used across Hamilton Beach, and how is it valuable at different levels?
Jill Gaynor: As the data becomes available each month, we develop custom monthly reports that are used throughout our organization. The reports help senior management quickly gauge how we’re performing in the marketplace, and they help ensure that we’re focusing our efforts in the right place.
The added consumer information available in the panel database helps our Marketing group peel back the onion in meaningful ways, tracking metrics including reasons for purchase, demographics, and brand perception.
NPD Insights: What would you say to manufacturers or retailers considering NPD’s market information services?
Jill Gaynor: I highly encourage them to get NPD data and use it as an informative tool in making business decisions. It’s critical to understand where the market is moving, especially in tumultuous times like these.
NPD Insights: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experiences with The NPD Group?
Jill Gaynor: I really appreciate the hands-on service we receive. The NPD team has been extremely helpful in digging into questions for us, and developing custom presentations that help keep our organization informed of emerging market trends.
To find out how NPD information and insights can help you explore emerging trends and develop innovative products, contact Charlie Camaroto at 866-444-1411 (contactnpd@npd.com)