Join me in my chat with Roel Kuik, Kentico Practice Lead at Aviva Solutions and Kentico Marketing MVP, who has a unique perspective on why Kentico stands out as a top CMS and DXP.
From navigating the complexities of enterprise-level CMSs to embracing the innovative leap into hybrid headless technology, Roel's journey with Kentico is both fascinating and inspiring. Grab your favorite mug and join us as we dive into why Kentico is more than just a platform; it's a solution that transforms how businesses thrive in the digital age through digital transformation.
Welcome, Roel!
I see you've brought along your Kentico mug, which is a great touch. It’s clear you’re a big fan, so let's start with this: What is it about Kentico that you and the team at Aviva Solutions love so much?
We love Kentico because it's a fully packed digital experience platform (DXP) solution which is easy to use for our target audience.
That's probably the main reason why our developers like working with it and why businesses are happy with it. It's easy to learn, it's flexible, it's scalable.
Most of our clients come from more enterprise-like CMS platforms, like Adobe or Sitecore. They bought into the whole DXP dream a couple of years ago, investing loads of money into a very complex solution. And they're now in a situation where they have not realized any of their digital marketing goals. They’re frustrated because it takes them a full day to publish content or manage content, and their business is not going anywhere. So switching to technology that actually supports marketers and content editors in their day-to-day business… It's a relief.
That's why we love Kentico.
“My first encounter with Sitecore, I didn't know what was happening. I literally needed a user's guide an inch thick to help me create new pages, articles, or blogs.”
Switching to Kentico
And I understand Aviva Solutions switched to Kentico for its own corporate website. How did that come about?
I joined the company seven years ago and they were on Sitecore 8 (or 7 even maybe!) and it was a disaster. I was used to having more advanced digital marketing tools at my disposal. So my first encounter with Sitecore, I didn't know what was happening. I literally needed a user's guide an inch thick to help me create new pages, articles, or blogs. It was a completely new world to me.
Thankfully we switched to Kentico. And from there on, we were able to not only use the CMS functionality of it, but started asking ourselves, “Why don't we also switch our email? And why don't we use marketing automation to support some of our main processes? And what about A/B testing to increase success?”
Nowadays, we don’t even focus on Kentico from a technology perspective but really focus on leveraging everything that's in the product to help our clients create better digital customer experiences. We can create personalized experiences, improve our online presence, and make data-driven decisions with ease.
Roel Kuik on Kentico Features
The Kentico Practice Lead at Aviva Solutions really likes our Content Hub.
Becoming a Kentico Marketing MVP
We are all thrilled to have you as one of our esteemed MVPs. How does it feel to be one of only two on the marketing side?
I'm proud to be a Kentico Marketing MVP and I think it's a good thing from a mechanical perspective that marketing MVPs finally exist. When you're a marketer using Kentico in your day-to-day business, it's really something to strive for. It's a shame there aren't more of us, though.
In a room full of technical MVPs, it's really nice to have someone else who speaks the same language, understands the same kind of challenges, and is looking forward to the same kind of solutions. So I'm glad there are now two of us (me and Wes from Americaneagle.com)— it makes a huge difference.
Kentico's openness to feedback
Technology will always be important. But it's not just about the technology anymore, it's about what the technology can do for you: the solutions it will provide, the challenges it will solve. To be able to leverage your technology, you sometimes need a slightly different angle. And a more strategic or marketing-focused MVP really fills that gap in my opinion.
Something special about Kentico is that they're really open to hearing input from the MVP community and beyond, even if it's critical or not what they would like to hear. But they'll take it, listen to it, and act on it. That openness and willingness to learn is really great.
Being able to put my two cents in on what I see or how I experience things or what I think should be in the product—that's something I like to do.
Cooperating with Kentico
Why Roel loves it
Thoughts on Xperience by Kentico
Our MVP community is invaluable to us and your opinions are worth much more than two cents, I can tell you! MVP experience and expertise have been especially crucial in guiding our decisions around our new hybrid headless DXP, Xperience by Kentico. What are your thoughts on this new offering from Kentico?
The flexibility Kentico is introducing with its hybrid-headless DXP offering is a unique proposition that is of real value to the market. It's no longer a dedicated DXP, it's not a headless solution, it's somewhere in the middle.
I love that Kentico has the (excuse my French) balls to follow their vision and create a new kind of solution that's in a niche of its own. They have the courage to follow their instincts or philosophy when it comes to the new product. One can only have respect for a company that is able to maintain a well-adopted DXP while also developing a completely new product on the side.
That's not an easy thing to do. And I think Kentico is doing a great job in keeping Kentico Xperience 13 up to date with the latest technologies, whilst also continuously developing the new cutting-edge product Xperience by Kentico. Having created a completely new mindset towards technology and how to move forward into the future, doing both at the same time is impressive.
And I believe that clients that have been happy with Kentico for years will continue to be. This is really special in software vending land. There's not a lot of vendors out there that are able to keep their clients satisfied over a longer period the way Kentico has.
“One can only have respect for a company that is able to maintain a well-adopted DXP while also developing a completely new product on the side. That's not an easy thing to do.”
Client perceptions of hybrid headless
What do your clients think of the hybrid headless message?
If you can grasp the idea of hybrid headless, it makes complete sense, but it is not an easy story to tell, especially in a market that is echoing with the shouts of headless vendors with massive budgets who are buying up the market.
At Aviva, we find that, at the end of the day, clients don't really care how it works. They just want a solution that performs well, makes their marketers and editors happy, and supports them in achieving their goals. And that’s pretty much all they care about.
So that's what we focus on. We simply explain that with Xperience by Kentico, you get the best of both worlds: the flexibility of a headless CMS for seamless integrations and the robust capabilities of a traditional CMS for complete content management.
Advice for enhancing digital experience maturity
What advice would you give to businesses looking to enhance their digital experience maturity?
Step one: Use the Digital Experience Maturity tool, and use it honestly. Really honestly. It doesn't matter where you are on your journey, but be truthful. Answering according to where you think you should be or where your stakeholders expect you to be isn't going to return an actionable result. So just be open, honest, and transparent. Then, regardless of where you are, it's easy to create steps to get you into a better position tomorrow than you are today.
Step two: Find yourself a knowledgeable partner who is willing to tell you when you are overestimating yourself. They should be there to support your specific business requirements. That's their job—not to sell hours, not even to develop a great product, but to understand your marketing processes and translate those into effective solutions. That's why you need a partner who truly understands your business and is committed to helping you grow by providing technology tailored to your current digital needs as well as your future growth.
Importance of industry experience in partners
How important is it for an organization to look for a partner with experience in their industry?
Organizations will look for previous industry experience because it builds trust. From an agency perspective, however, I believe that a good digital agency will do a great job regardless of industry.
Take Aviva Solutions as an example. No particular industry stands out in our portfolio. But what does stand out is our average client profile: large, industry-leading organizations with a gap in their knowledge, resources, or experience that stops them from achieving their goals with the technology that's currently available. They want an agency that will help them grow by creating a digital marketing road map.
Roel, it's been a pleasure having you with us today. Thank you for sharing your journey and expertise. Here’s to many more innovative projects and, of course, many more cups of tea in that trusty Kentico mug! Until next time!
Discover how Aviva Solutions use Kentico to help their clients grow. Read a DHB Bank success story.
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