Terser Adamu: Brilliant Ways to Market a Business in Nigeria
Working with businesses in Nigeria has provided me with a unique opportunity to think about marketing from a different perspective. I’ve picked up quite a few insights and learned a lot along the way.Most Nigerian businesses that I work with believe that you have to spend big bucks to market your business. This is not true! There are plenty of cost affective marketing tactics that you can put in place that won’t blow your budget.
Due to Nigeria’s dynamic cultures and internal constraints such as infrastructure, limited internet reach and poor power supply, the one-size-fits-all solution when creating an effective marketing plan does not work. What I’ve learned is that each business requires a creative strategy to reach their target audience and effectively convey their message, whilst also overcoming obstacles that are often typically encountered in Nigeria.
Targeted Marketing plays a fundamental role in increasing sales and encouraging growth. So why are many businesses in Nigeria ignoring marketing? And why do they see marketing as such a tough nut to crack?
Here are some marketing tactics that I’ve successfully used for businesses in Nigeria.
Content is King
Consider blogging. Nigeria is home to a diverse blogosphere. Blogs have gradually emerged as an important platform for discussion and a source of reliable information, which businesses should leverage to attract potential customers.
Separate yourself from your competition by concentrating on great content, and don’t be afraid to be provocative. A website’s worth can be determined by the productivity and personality of its content. Poor content equals no visitors and fewer sales. If writing isn’t your strong point, you should delegate this activity to a third party who can create decent articles for your blog.
Create Instructional Videos
An impressive percentage of Nigerians now own a smartphone. This has quickly changed the way that Nigerians cosume information. Video content is becoming increasingly valuable, and while it can cost big bucks to hire a professional to produce a video, there’s nothing wrong with giving it a shot yourself.
I’ve seen some great tutorials on YouTube that show you how to shoot professional looking footage on your regular old smartphone!
Join the eBook Revolution
With the growing use of smartphones and tablets in Nigeria writing an e-book is an outstanding way to showcase your expertise and knowledge. By publishing your book electronically, you make it cheaper and more accessible to a wider audience.
EBook giveaways via your website are a great tried and tested method of building subscribers to your mailing list. Convert these subscribers in to customers.
Be a Savvy Social Media User
According to Alexa, the 10 most visited sites in Nigeria are social media platforms. In fact, in 2014 almost 80% of Nigerian internet users regulalrly visited social networking sites.
Social media has completely overhauled the domain of marketing. It would be wise to understand the benefits social media can bring to your marketing strategy. Use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Add Instagram and Youtube in there too if your business is image-oriented.
Be smart and purposeful in the way you use social media. Post regular updates, discuss topics in relevant forums and share articles to expand your footprints.
Customer Referral Program
A consistent flow of customer referrals can change the fortunes of a struggling business.
Offer existing customers free products or services for referring new customers. Referred customers are more likely to stay with your company, so it’ll be worth it.
Network Building
From Lagos to Jos, word-of-mouth is ingrained in Nigerian culture. Leverage this to improve your brand awareness and positioning in the market.
Potential customers are often not convinced of a business until they have social proof. Developing a powerful network will help you gain legitimacy, which will attract more customers and increase sales.
Network building not only includes sharing great bonds with professionals, but also building strong relationships with your customers.
Host Events for the public and media
I’ve used events to publicise anything from the launch of a new product to the addition of a new director or business partner.
You can create a real buzz around this event by inviting the public, loyal customers, local businesses, and most importantly, the media. Remember, every business event deserves media attention.
Invite reporters, bloggers, reviewers and media people to attend your event. Giving away some benefits in terms of free swag is also a good idea. Let your guests have exclusive viewing and testing of your new business product or service. This will make them feel special and create a positive experience.
Use your personality
You don’t have to be Steve Jobs in order to do this, but you do have to be passionate, enthusiastic and present a sense of purpose beyond the actual product.
Nigerians love business people that have a deep understanding of the local market and perspective. Developing an in-depth, on-the-ground understanding will allow you to tell a story that is genuine and authentic.
Express your ideas and views about your company at seminars, workshops and conferences. This may not create direct sales, but it will build your profile and authority amongst your business peers. Through this, customers will start believing in you and subsequently your product, which will generate sales.
Form Industry Partnerships
Join forces with businesses that compliment your service. For example if you design websites, you could link with a company that specializes in SEO or online marketing because they are related to your industry but not a direct competitor.
You could offer discounts to customers if they purchase a package that requires services from both companies.
By partnering with another business, you’ll be introduced to a whole new audience related to your niche. This type of opportuinity is invaluable.
Use customer testimonials
This will add credibility to your marketing and increase trust with potential customers.
A simple and affective way to quickly build trust, and create credibility is to include customer testimonials in your marketing material and website. You can use excerpts from genuine e-mails, letters, questionnaires or feedback forms from customers.
Testimonials should express how your product or service helped solve a specific problem that is directly related to your business. For example – “XYZ Marketing was instrumental in helping the Plantain Network to grow from a small family business to the largest Plantain distributor in Nigeria – Now selling 500 tonnes of plantain a year”.
Terser Adamu is a consultant, entrepreneur, inovator and speaker.
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