JEDDAH, 19 July — LG Electronics has taken a “bold initiative” to launch its new marketing strategy for the Saudi Arabian market. “The strategy includes a long term perspective plan for this part of the world,” its new General Manager Ho Kyoung Seo told a press conference yesterday.
“We’re establishing a customer information center (CIC) which will centralize a database on all aspects of customer information, including needs and expectations. The CIC will serve as the main link between our customers and distributors. It will handle customer inquiries, service problems and accept after-sales service calls, and will direct them to concerned departments. We intend to offer after-sales service on the most modern lines,” he said.
“LG’s supplies from Korea to this part of the world are projected to increase by 20 to 25 percent to $110 to $115 million this year, from $93 million last year. The projection is based on the monthly sales averages of LG’s varieties of products,” he said.
Aside from telecommunication products, LG will be introducing Plasma TV next year. “This will be the world’s thinnest and biggest TV,” he claimed.
Seo, who officially took charge of the local office earlier this month “with full determination to increase our market share through pro-customer action,” said the pro-customer action meant product development to meet customer needs.
Today, the competition is not confined to the features of a product or its quality of manufacturing and pricing. “Today’s competition includes every aspect of business — product development, manufacturing, packing, features, technical specifications, marketing, selling, pricing and, most importantly, after-sales service. The ultimate objective of this process is customer satisfaction,” he said.
Although the company’s different products have different peak seasons during a year, the holy month of Ramadan constituted by far the best period for most of its product lines, he said.
The Kingdom, which held rich potential for business opportunities thanks to its speedy development and modernization remained one of the most important markets in the Middle East, Africa region, he added.
LG, which successfully organized an international cooking competition in Jeddah recently, has started executing its strategic interest in sports and small events. “It’s my intention to enhance our brand identity and make it number one in all product categories,” he said.
In his introductory remarks Marketing Manager S.M. Arshad said Seo had rich and diversified experience having been with LG for 15 years — eight of them as general manager in Germany and Ivory Coast. “Seo is a man with a career studded with numerous successes and a positive global attitude,” Arshad added.
