New strategy at Conforama
Sound brand and market observation is a central pillar in building effective marketing strategies and measures. In this interview, Martin Koncilja, Marketing and E-Commerce Director Conforama Switzerland, explains how he goes about this, what his requirements are for market insights, why he chose the Swiss Brand Observer and what advantages he sees in this new tool.
m&k: Martin Koncilja, where do you currently see the most important challenges in your functional area?
Martin Koncilja: In furniture and electronics retail, we are in a very competitive market with many competitors. On the one hand, there are the brick-and-mortar retailers and, on the other, the online pure players. With my marketing measures, I have to increase the frequency in our 22 stores and bring new customers to our online store Conforama.ch.
Are there any developments in marketing at the moment that you are keeping a particular eye on?
The development in retail is clearly moving in the direction of cross- and omni-channel. The best possible link between brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce is also a major concern for me, and this is where I place my focus.
You now also use the Swiss Brand Observer for market monitoring. What needs at Conforama led to this, and why did you decide on this tool in particular?
In the retail business, everything has to happen quickly, and since Link launched with this great product in September 2021, the timing was perfect for me to jump on the already moving train right away. In order for me to quickly develop Conforama Switzerland's new marketing strategy, I need to know exactly how well Conforama is known and what its image is in Switzerland and in the various language regions at all times. And this is exactly where the Swiss Brand Observer can provide me with important insights, as it continuously shows me how well known our brand is, how our communication and advertising measures are perceived, and in which image attributes our strengths lie.
Has the SBO already been able to provide initial insights, and how do you derive added value from the SBO?
The fact that the data is updated weekly and representatively in the SBO gave us the opportunity to quickly and effectively see how Conforama customers and non-customers perceive us and our latest advertising measures. I have already been able to present these very important findings to the management and define initial measures to strengthen our brand image. As I said, there is no time to lose in retail, and we need to permanently know the consumer's point of view, as it is a highly competitive environment.
Can you please summarize again the three strengths of the SBO?
Every week, you get the latest market data on the perception of your own brand and competitors, the results can be filtered as you wish (e.g. by region or income) and using the dashboard is child's play.
You can find more information about the Swiss Brand Observer at Swiss-brand-observer.ch.
