• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 20, 2013

Underscoring its focus on listening to consumer feedback, Stephen Kinch, senior product manager, mobile, at 7-Eleven, noted how the company created a feature in its app earlier this year called the Idea Hub to solicit input from users about how to enhance the app.

Even though the feature was buried four-levels down in the main menu, people managed to find it quickly and began posting ideas about for the app as well as the convenience chain’s stores and products. Kinch said the Ideas Hub was similar to Starbucks better known MyStarbucksIdea, but for now confined to mobile. Given the response, though, he suggested the Idea Hub would be expanded to other platforms.

Kinch also outlined four basic elements to developing a successful app:

-Having a product rather than a project mentality
-Listening to your guests
-Reserve the right to get smarter (by iterating product)
-Building engines of innovation (think creating APIs)