CEOs’ future calculations

In many sectors the rules of the game are being rewritten. Radical changes are expected in the near future. Research supports this conclusion. The most striking result of a survey of 750 CEOs conducted by IBM in 2006 was that 65 percent of them were planning a radical change in the next two years because of market forces and the pressure of competition. These changes in the rest of the world are also having an impact on the Turkish business world. Far-reaching changes are expected in the near future. Capital asked some of the leading names in different sectors of the Turkish business world what they believed would change.

“Those Who Analyze The Customer Well Will Succeed”

 Turkcell CEO Süreyya Ciliv says: “One of the basic priorities in mobile communications will be a better knowledge of a broad cross section of consumers and offering solutions which will meet their needs in the most appropriate manner.” Ciliv completes his predictions of the future of the sector as follows: “There will be a further increase in the importance of the right segmentation which is a critical instrument in the provision of special personalized services appropriate to different customer profiles and preferences. Ease of use and simplicity in technology and services, which are becoming increasingly more complicated for the customer, will become some of the main priorities. Convergence, in the sense of the merger of the worlds of the media, internet and telecommunications, will make services more varied.”

 “3g Will Increase The Opportunities For Cooperation”
* The advent of 3G will result in a growth in interest in services such as music and TV and produce opportunities for new partnerships.
* Creative solutions, such as , mobile signatures, will make life easier in areas such as banking, insurance and the e-state.

The New Consumer From Saffet Karpat
“Orientation is becoming increasingly important in the consumer sector. People will become even more selective and their expectations in terms of performance will rise.” These comments belong to P & G Turkey CEO Saffet Karpat, who expects significant changes in amongst consumers and makes the following predictions:
“The more effective utilization of resources such as water and energy will become more important in production. The beauty products and personal care market is growing rapidly throughout the world. As people begin to live longer so the interest in anti-aging products increases. In the future, consumption of anti-aging skincare products will rise. It a fact that in the future nanotechnology applications will increase.”

The Near Future Of The Sector
* In the future mergers will continue in the retail sector and retail companies will enter the competition with their own brands.
* Skincare products which protect against the harmful effects of sunlight will became increasingly important in fast-moving consumer goods.

“Turkey Will Make Its Presence Felt In Light Commercial Vehicles”
Tofaş CEO Ali Pandır says: “Compared with Europe, the Turkish automotive sector is very young and newly developing.” He believes that the sector faces problems which it needs to overcome, such as high taxation. “Domestic sales are still weak. There is still no balance between domestic sales and exports but this will be solved. Turkey has an extremely hardworking, participatory and, when compared with Europe, cheap labor force,” says Pandır and makes the following analysis: “Turkey has developed an unrivalled expertise, particularly in light commercial vehicles. In the future, Turkey will continue to be a major player in light commercial vehicles. There will also be more cases of automotive firms forming tripartite partnerships for a model or engaging in acquisitions. Profit margins will increase in spare parts and automobile accessories.”

The Path To 2015 In Automotives
* Fuel cell vehicles will appear in 2015. By 2015 one tenth of all the vehicles on the roads will use alternative fuels to petrol.
* We will not have to wait long to see vehicles on the roads which are linked to the Internet.

Ergun Özen’s Scenario For Banking
‘Several of the players in the sector are pursuing an aggressive, rapid growth strategy”, said Garanti Bankası CEO Ergun Özen and he made the following prediction about the future: “Many banks may become involved in acquisitions in the near future. But the player profile in the sector will change more radically in the long term and there will be privatization and mergers.”
In order to reach more customers banks will expand their branch networks, restructure their workforces towards marketing and increase the number of their personnel. In retail banking, the intense competition we have to date seen in credit cards will shift into personal loans for items such as cars and houses.”

 “People Won’t Have To Go To The Branch Even To Sign A Contract”
* In the near future a lot of new banking products will be produced targeting different customer segments and needs.
* As electronic signatures and mobile signatures become more widespread, banks will begin to provide many of the services that they are currently unable to offer through Internet banking. Customers will not need to go to the branch even to sign a contract.

Fadime Çoban Bazzal
[email protected]