The power of word of mouth marketing: Girls are spreading the news about go! pads after first trial use.

Making go! pads sticky in consumers’ mind

Flora Ufitinema profile photo_square

 

by Flora Ufitinema, Marketing and Research Associate, Rwanda

 

We had our first major go! presentation and sales week in August at the 7th Annual Eastern Province Expo in Ngoma. We both presented our go! pads to the business community while also having our pads available for purchase for local consumers! We had a lot of foot traffic thanks to a recent feature of our Production Staff Leader Marie Louise Umulisa in Ni Nyampinga magazine, a national magazine produced by Girl Effect Rwanda. This was really amazing and represented how important this magazine will be in our future efforts to inform girls about go! pads.

We also enjoyed explaining the process of constructing our go! pads with banana tree fibers. People really responded well to the go! pads, especially the bold colors of our brand. The girls and women were most attracted to our product because of how absorbent and inexpensive it is compared to imported pads.

We also connected with local kiosks owners who were also interested in stocking go! pads in their stores. One kiosk owner bought a few go! pads to put her in store, and later that week, she brought other local kiosks owners to purchase and stock go! pads in their shops too.

Another girl who received our go! pads while at the Peace Corps camp in the Eastern Province, came to purchase her own pack of go! pads and brought her friends with her to check out our pads too. She mentioned how go! pads are very absorbent and comfortable. Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool for brand awareness, and we’re excited that the word on the street is good to go!

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We’re just getting started with sales and are looking for customers in Rwanda, so please reach out to us at supportshe@sheinnovates.com to get some go! pads in your hands today.

Meet Assistant Production Manager Eric Ndayishimiye

Assistant Production Manager Eric Derrick NDAYISHIMIYE Headshot

Eric Ndayishimiye joins SHE, Rwanda as its Assistant Production Manager.

What is your role at SHE and what are some of your current projects?

My role is Assistant Production Manager. Currently, my projects are continuous product improvements of our go! pads to maintain its high-quality and maintenance of our machines.

How did you first connect with SHE?

One day a friend of me told that “Man, they doing some cool innovation in Ngoma. Let’s go and see what is going on!!” After I visited the production site, and learned more about the patented process of producing pads out of banana fibers, I applied for an internship to work as a production intern.  

Why did you join SHE?

I joined SHE to contribute my technical skills to a greater mission of valuing our sisters and mothers so they no longer miss work or school.

What have you learned about grit, innovation, and trust since joining the team?

I learned how the use of banana fibers is highly innovative and unique. I also am inspired that everyone at SHE can play be a part of addressing this problem; that each one of us have skills that we can use to improve our communities.

What is your goal for expanding go!’s pad production?

My goals is to learn the technology updates needed so we can quickly implement in our pad production.

When you’re not working at SHE, what are your passions and hobbies?

I am passionate about solving practical problems (DIY). I enjoy watching movies and swimming.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

They be surprised to know that I am flexible and kind.

What words best describe you?

Quiet, Wise, and Hard Worker

What’s the most recent book you read / TV or movie you watched / song you danced to?

The recent book I’ve read is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and my favorite TV show is SHAMELESS.