Research key during uncertainty
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 11, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Qualified knowledge is a must in today's business world, not only for overcoming the current crisis, but also for enhanced success in volatile conditions, according to Sabancı Holding Chairwoman Güler Sabancı.
She said there is a need for more efficient, quicker and more self-developing decision-making methods, speaking in Istanbul yesterday at the opening of the 12th Research Summit, organized by the Turkish Association of Marketing and Opinion Researchers.
One of the most important issues for enterprises is to understand the undefined needs of consumers, said Sabancı, who heads one of Turkey’s largest holding groups. "As businesspeople who are also the end-users of research results, we need more insight," she said.
"Business circles and nongovernmental organizations are trying hard to understand their target audiences, the competition and the markets. We need to understand the current crisis and what comes next. Thus, we need the vision of researchers," she added.
The world faces an era of changes and uncertainties, Sabancı said. "This causes us to expect more effort from researchers."
"Albeit research has always taken place in the business world, they have become crucial in the age of total quality management," said Sabancı.
"As Sabancı Holding, we launched our total quality management operations in early 1990s. We investigate the satisfaction level of our customers, our distributors and our shareholders through this system. We use research data to improve our business processes."
Also speaking at the conference, Temel Aksoy, chairman of the Turkish Association of Marketing and Opinion Researchers, said the research sector has grown 260 percent since 2002 and reached a volume of $151 million from $42 million in the same period.
"Economic volatility forces companies to use research data while planning new investments," said Aksoy. "The sector grew 16 percent last year and surpassed $150 million in revenue. We foresee the research sector to grow even more rapidly in the coming years.
"Turkish consumers started to act more consciously in the last couple of years," said Aksoy. "Lifestyles and the needs of the consumers have started to change due to market conditions. Convenience, speed, multi-functionality and eco-consciousness loom large among the attention focuses of the new type of customer."
"Firms are developing new strategies to get ahead of the competition as well as create customer commitment. The importance of research is very high within this contemporary customer-company relationship," said Aksoy.
One of the most important issues for enterprises is to understand the undefined needs of consumers, said Sabancı, who heads one of Turkey’s largest holding groups. "As businesspeople who are also the end-users of research results, we need more insight," she said.
"Business circles and nongovernmental organizations are trying hard to understand their target audiences, the competition and the markets. We need to understand the current crisis and what comes next. Thus, we need the vision of researchers," she added.
The world faces an era of changes and uncertainties, Sabancı said. "This causes us to expect more effort from researchers."
"Albeit research has always taken place in the business world, they have become crucial in the age of total quality management," said Sabancı.
"As Sabancı Holding, we launched our total quality management operations in early 1990s. We investigate the satisfaction level of our customers, our distributors and our shareholders through this system. We use research data to improve our business processes."
Also speaking at the conference, Temel Aksoy, chairman of the Turkish Association of Marketing and Opinion Researchers, said the research sector has grown 260 percent since 2002 and reached a volume of $151 million from $42 million in the same period.
"Economic volatility forces companies to use research data while planning new investments," said Aksoy. "The sector grew 16 percent last year and surpassed $150 million in revenue. We foresee the research sector to grow even more rapidly in the coming years.
"Turkish consumers started to act more consciously in the last couple of years," said Aksoy. "Lifestyles and the needs of the consumers have started to change due to market conditions. Convenience, speed, multi-functionality and eco-consciousness loom large among the attention focuses of the new type of customer."
"Firms are developing new strategies to get ahead of the competition as well as create customer commitment. The importance of research is very high within this contemporary customer-company relationship," said Aksoy.