Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Getting a Water Ionizer? Which Unit??

It is a common business phenomenon that with growing demand, new companies enter the market to provide a greater supply to meet that demand. Not surprisingly, since 2008, there have been numerous companies offering water ionizers to customers here in Singapore, even established water system brands have started to offer water ionizers to complement their existing ranges of systems, which indicates that alkaline ionized water is something that people are finally sitting up and taking it seriously. However, with a myriad of different ionizers available, consumers are now spoilt for choice and often have to figure out which unit suits them.

Since the early days, when Kemp Trading started to offer water ionizers in 1988, water ionizers have been considered big ticket items to most households in the price range of thousands dollars. Additionally, since it is something that you will be ingesting, don’t you think it would be wise to do some research and checks first? Hence, as a consumer, it is essential to make an informed decision not just for cost reasons, but also for the health and well being of your family.

Interestingly, recently lots of customers have asked me, how our machine differs from others, I often reply that because of the listed reasons above, it is important to consider several factors including:

1)      Track Record
Why is track record important? Simply because water ionizers are big ticket items! Imagine buying a system for thousands of dollars and in a couple of years, the company that sold it to you closes or worst still, if the factory that produces it folds, your water ionizer may no longer have any access to filters and spare parts!

2)      After sales service support
With a changing landscape and consumer preferences, selling a product on its own is no longer sufficient, hence service has become an integral part of any product offering. Some examples for water ionizers, includes having someone who can change your filter regularly or for example someone whom you can ask anything about alkaline ionized water over the phone or in worst case scenarios to check on your water ionizers should there be a failure or problem.

3)      Quality of systems
Have you ever bought a product that constantly had you going back to the service center? Frustrating isn’t it? No matter how good an after sales service support, if the quality of the product constantly gives you issues, it’s only a matter of time before customers give up and leave with a bad impression. Hence the quality is very important. You could also translate quality to reliability of a product.

4)      Prices
The oft stated ‘pay peanuts and get monkeys’ is not something that really holds true with modern marketing ideas. Multi-level marketing, additional costs in terms of advertising costs and other overheads costs all contribute significantly to pricing, however they do not really reflect the true quality of a product. The consumer however still has to pay the marked up cost for the product.

5)      Experts’ Opinions
Whilst considered unimportant by some, it does help to have someone in authority (such as a researcher, doctor or famed personality) provide their valued opinion. Most experts would not want their reputation and credibility to be ruined by association with a bogus or inferior quality product.

6)      Recurring cost
Ever bought a cheap product that had a high recurring cost? Think printers with exorbitant cartridge replacements, or cars with high maintenance and fuel cost. Often a product that has a really low selling price catches the impulse buyers off guard and the reality doesn’t strike til it is time to top up. Many irate consumers remember the feeling of having to continually pay high maintenance fees for systems that often end up being more expensive than the product itself. Most end up cutting their losses and switching to something that has a significantly lower recurring cost.

7)      Product comparisons
With the advent of the Internet, there is plenty of information circulating the Internet, including ‘unbiased’ product comparisons. An interesting thing that I noted was that different brands of machines or systems came out top in different ‘unbiased’ product comparisons, which underlines the notion that ‘unbiased’ sometimes may not really be that unbiased after all. One way to be sure when we talk about impartiality in testing would be to refer to independent 3rd party testing of products that have no vested interest and more importantly have a reputation for impartial testing.

With knowledge comes power, but without acting on that knowledge, then it really serves no purpose. Hence, it is important as a consumer to do your own due diligence and research. Some good ideas when it comes to doing research include:

a)      Checking the Internet and forums
A vast universe of information is publicly available on the Internet and at the touch of a button. Whilst information from the corporate websites would be highly informative, it is also considered biased and skewed. Hence, a good idea would be to go search the forums where people are more vocal and honest in their opinions. This helps to add a pinch of salt to the information that you can pull from the Internet.

b)      Talking to friends about the product, technology and even company
Another idea would be to talk to friends about the idea or even the product. Get a sense from them on their thoughts and opinions. On the account of your friendship, it should give you a more trusted and believable response.

c)       Call or visit at least 2 different companies and ask them about the product specifically
As a consumer, always check with the company salesperson since they would be the product experts. Feel free to ask them any question that you may have. Remember that no question is a silly question! However, to tamper a one-sided point of view, it is always good to check with another company. That way, you would be able to piece together a whole picture from different sources and finally make a decision.

Remember that purchasing a water ionizer is a long term investment for your family and your health. Be sure of what you are getting! The last thing that you would want, is to get a unit that fails to serve its purpose effectively or worst, harms your family’s health! You should NEVER be coerced into buying a set unless you’re absolutely sure of it.

Til another time!

Should you have any queries or need more clarification, do feel free to contact us at +65 6272-5337 / 6223-2267 or simply email us at sales@kemptrading.com


IK

More information can be found at our company’s site, www.kemptrading.com.