tiresandparts.net8You have been with Continental for almost 20 years. How has the company evolved over the years in terms of marketing strategy?Everything is changing around us and we constantly need to adapt to these changes. From the company’s perspective, it is important to realise how customer behaviour and preferences have changed. These days, consumers have a far greater choice in the market place. Let’s take an example of how customers used to select and purchase their car tyres two decades ago. Despite the diversity of brands that existed, customers had little knowledge of the products and always tended to follow the recommendations of one or two sources such as the technician or an editor of a local auto magazine. This has now changed with customers being able to access thousands of reviews and comparisons at the touch of a button on their smartphone and take a conscious decision.Looking more specifically at how Continental has also evolved over the years, be it through product offerings and marketing strategies, some of the company’s biggest developments can be summarised with the following:• A global footprint - Continental’s production facilities and point of sale presence has evolved and increased – thanks to our international and local market partners whom we have strong relationships with. This has been evident through in the strong retail division that has developed.• A holistic approach – With our expertise in both tyre and automotive parts production, Continental has become a key industry player in providing complex mobility solutions that meet the needs of our customers and increases their trust in us and our German engineering.• Safety – Continental has been a pioneer in road safety for more than 140 years. Driver safety has been - and always will be - at the heart of our company ethos. Today, we take our unrivalled driver safety heritage to the next level, with our new commitment to customers: Vision Zero. In less than 10 years from the announcement of our safety vision, we are proud to be contributing significantly to the wellbeing of motorists and pedestrians and reaching our vision of zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero accidents. • An ecological focus – Continental’s goal is to find an ecologically, economically and socially viable solution for the increasing demand for natural rubber. For this, Continental is heavily involved in building new research facilities to focus on industrialising the cultivation and processing dandelion as an alternative source of natural rubber. Our target is, within the next five to 10 years, to start offering Continental tyres made of dandelion. For Continental, which are the most important markets in the Middle East and why?The Middle East as a region as a whole is a key market for Continental. This is why we set up a dedicated regional office in Dubai in 2015, to ensure we could really get under the skin of the market and best service our customers.Our three most important markets here are Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. Research indicates that Saudi Arabia is a 12-million market for passenger and light truck tyres, and close to three million for trucks. The UAE and Egypt are estimated to each represent a market of six-million passenger and light truck tyres market.
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