Interview With Miljan Zarkovic - The First 2 Years of IQOS in Macedonia

The introduction of a new category of smoke-free products in Macedonia began for the first time in 2020. In two years, IQOS has managed to cause change, striving to achieve a single goal - a future without tobacco smoke.

The customer support in the voyage to a world without tobacco smoke and the optimal user experience of our customers, is our priority from the start.

This is exactly the topic we are talking about with Miljan Zarkovic - Head of Consumer Experience at IQOS, who revealed some interesting things about the first 2 years of IQOS in Macedonia:

1. What did the beginnings of IQOS in Macedonia look like and what were the biggest challenges?

The crisis that befell us all in March 2020, also affected our plans to launch the IQOS tobacco heating system on the Macedonian market. The whole world stopped, and we had to say "start" in completely new circumstances. But the adult users of tobacco and nicotine products in Macedonia have been waiting for this product on the market for a long time and that was the main motive. That is, for the start to happen, although different from what was planned.

Therefore, in May 2020, the new innovative tobacco heating system was officially introduced on the market.

Given that in that period the whole world switched to "online living", our website mk.iqos.com was launched and was available from the very beginning to provide full support and information, in a preferable way for our users.

2. What has changed from the beginning to the present?

What means the most to us as a company since returning to the normal way of functioning, is the opportunity to talk to customers in person.

We constantly strive to listen to them and on that basis to change and improve our smoke-free products. All this is much easier to do when we have the opportunity to communicate in a normal way, as before the appearance of Covid-19.

3. At Philip Morris you are in the position of Head of Consumer Experience. How does your role fit into the IQOS world?

People have talked about the user experience a lot lately, but the customer care as a way of working has always existed, only some companies recognize its importance, and some do not.

I'm really happy that Philip Morris has given me the opportunity to do what I love most, and that is to listen to our customers and provide them with the best possible support in their journey to a world without tobacco smoke.

4. The brand has exceptional customer care, what does that mean and why is it so important?

Philip Morris is unique in that it strives to focus entirely on the future without tobacco smoke and that encourages adult smokers who do not quit smoking to switch to a better alternative than cigarettes.

But, to achieve this goal - a world without tobacco smoke – it takes much more than replacing one product on the market with another. The realization of this idea requires a change in the entire business model, and most of all, in the way we communicate with our customers.

Therefore, the IQOS customer care is much more than providing timely and good technical support. For us, customer care is an understanding of the individual needs of customers, open and honest communication, and a commitment to find the right way of support and solution for each of our customers. Only in this way, with real customer support, we will reach the above goal.

5. What does IQOS mean to you, what would you recommend to all existing users and those who have not yet made such a change?

I have been an IQOS user for almost 5 years, so I can share my personal experience. Before using IQOS, I smoked regular cigarettes for many years, and IQOS really made a difference in my life.

Heating tobacco, as opposed to burning it, brings many benefits such as less unpleasant odors, no smoke, no ash, but most importantly, it releases significantly less (~ 95%) harmful ingredients than cigarette smoking.

Our priority is to address the harmful effects of cigarettes, the result of tobacco burning and the release of harmful ingredients, and through scientific research to show that there is a scientifically proven better alternative to cigarette smoking.

Finally, we thank Miljan for revealing a bit more about the IQOS customer support and how important of a segment it is as part of the full IQOS experience.

Thank you all for your support and for choosing a better alternative for a better future!

We keep moving together, because we are always here for you,

Your IQOS!