Photo Report on the conference

Press Release:

Is client orientation a weak link of the domestic high-tech marketing?

Investments into technologies of loyalty and retention of "the best customers" should become one of the main sources of growing market capitalisation of ICT-market operators. Participants of the Second Hi-Tech Marketing International Conference spoke about it in Kiev on September 26-27. The new client orientation vector: beyond sales: focus on the client.

This year, the subjects of the annual forum that brought together professionals in the area of marketing and strategic development, working on the telecommunication markets of Europe and the CIS countries in the capital of Ukraine was devoted to creation of consumer value, customer service, customer retention technologies and loyalty programs.

During the first day of conference, reports on various aspects of the announced subject were made by 11 leading experts from 6 European countries representing the leading telecommunication, consulting and IT companies. Conference was opened by report delivered by Igor Mann, Marketing Director Arctel (Russia), the second marketing guru from Odessa (after F.Kotler), Igor told what issue would face the companies who decided to develop client orientation.

The first session was devoted to the features of behavior of hi-tech services consumers, during which the CEOs of Cablecom Gmbh (Switzerland), MTS (Ukraine), Kyivstar GSM, and iKS-Consulting touched upon the issues of subscriber development, customer feedback management, customer expectation management and service positioning as life style component.

Jani Asikanius, AVP Sales EMEA, Unipier Ltd and Matt Sneddon, Sales Director, Agillic (Great Britain) stated their opinion on impact of relationship marketing tools on the income-generationg component of services.

Sabine Emad (Orange, Switzerland), George Lambrianou, (CYTA, Cyprus), Evangelos Xevelonakis, (Swiss Valuenet, Switzerland), and Ivo Saluoks (Norby Telecom, Estonia) delivered their reports on client orientation strategies in customer service and examples of their successful implementation.

The first day was culminated with the round-table discussion – Customer Service: Costs or Investments?, which brought up questions on an optimum level of customer support costs, evaluation of the investments effectiveness in customer service, and reaching a balance between client orientation and profitability of hi-tech service operators.

"The discussion demonstrated that though so far operators had not considered client orientation as their priority, they agreed to the necessity to make it part of their corporate culture", - Tatiana Tolmacheva, Managing Partner at iKS-Consulting, summarized the first day.

"Telecommunication service providers need to go long way to catch up with western companies. It is evident that the client both is ready and expects greater degree of client orientation from operators, greater concern for and attention to themselves. Such meetings, during which operators share their experience, are sure critical", noted Julia Ovchinnikova, Director "IKS-HOLDING" comprising iKS-Consulting agency - the conference organizer.

"It is the second time I have participated in the conference as there is nothing like that in Ukraine. It is both the opportunity to listen to colleagues and the most valuable experience, which will be useful to us in the near future", - noted Igor D'yachkov (Kyivstar GSM).

During the second day of the conference, its organizers open up opportunities for its participants to plunge into the market atmosphere – market reviews of infocom markets in Eastern Europe and the CIS countries were presented to them, this activity being held in the halls of the fifth anniversary exhibition – 2007 EEBC Telecom & Broadcasting Exhibition. Under auspices of ICTM associations (Ukraine), a series of survey reports on infocom markets in Eastern Europe and the CIS countries took place.

The second Hi-Tech Marketing conference brought together more than 70 participants, the majority of whom are chief executives of Ukrainian and Russian communication operators, TV and media companies including Vympelcom, MTS (Ukraine), Kyivstar GSM, Ukrtelecom, ITC (Ukraine), Black Sea Telecom, DevСom (Ukraine), MK Media, the Ukrainian radio systems, Will-cable, and others.

The event is organized by iKS-Consulting analytical agency and Association ICT-MARKETING of Ukraine.

Information

In case you wish to acquire any conference materials, please, approach Anna Kopetskaya, iKS-Consulting at: tel.:+7 495 505 1050, e-mail:hitechmarketing@iks-consulting.ru

Conference audience:

KEY SPEAKERS

Igor Mann
Marketing Director 
ARCTEL
biography




Sabine Emad Director
e-Channels and Direct Marketing Orange Communications SA
biography

Federico Cesconi
Director of Customer Insights & Retention
Cablecom Gmbh
biography

Tatiana Tolmacheva Managing Partner
iKS- Consulting
biography

Vasily Latsanich
Marketing Director
MTS (Ukraine)
biography

Evangelos Xevelonakis Managing Director
Swiss Valuenet
biography

Dr Georgios Lambrianou,
Head of Sales Management
CYTA
biography

Jani Asikanius AVP Sales Unipier Ltd
biography

Nina Martsin
Director Customer Relationship Management
Kievstar
biography

Ivo Saluoks
Member of the Board, Data Communications Norby Telecom
biography  

Matt Sneddon
Sales Director
Agillic
biography