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Emmanuel Otori

Emmanuel is a Small Business Consultant, Start-Up Advisor and Consultant For SMEs across Nigeria. He's also the CEO of Abuja data School. He Has Worked With 50 Small Businesses, Including A World Bank And Federal Government Project. He Has Provided Advisory Services, Capacity Building Trainings And Consulting In The Hospitality, Information Technology, Fashion, Agric, Power And Services Sector.

Customer Retention Strategies

How Superstores Are Utilizing Superior Customer Experience To Increase Retention Rates And How SMEs Can Adopt Technique “A happy customer tells their friend, an unhappy customer tells the world” One of the major challenges Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face is customer retention. This is the ability to make customers coming back after the first purchase. Repeat sales to the same set of customers over time encourage loyalty and as a business owner, you need loyal customers to ensure you are in business. The reason why it is important to have strategies for both customer acquisition and retention is that it takes as much as 3x effort, time, and resources to acquire a new customer than to retain them. Therefore the ability to manage an already existing customer helps a business build loyalty and profitability eventually. There are several examples of how different businesses have used customer experience to boost customer retention. A major shift in consumer’s purchasing behavior can be seen in the emergence of superstores across Africa. There have always been supermarkets within neighborhoods where residents make regular purchases, however, their inability to create a unique experience for buyers has caused customers to visit these superstores that can create the experiences they desire. As customers emerge, their needs begin to shift from just satisfaction of these needs to getting an experience that helps them create memories whenever they go shopping, and this evolution has made businesses think about how to capture these experiences in their offerings. Some variables that have seen the surge of customers to superstores from already existing supermarkets include: Ambiance Ambiance could be in the form of a serene environment with greenery or a properly lighted space where customers with their families can sit, have informal discussions and relish the memories and experiences that comes with being able to enjoy their shopping experience. An environment that creates a background for good pictures puts the shoppers in a position of wanting to experiment with different scenery. This range of experiences is a major factor that would keep customers loyal to a brand. Competitive Pricing Superstores have also learned the ability to engage their supply chain to get competitive pricing for the bulk purchases made in order for retailers to benefit from obtaining goods at what they consider reasonable and affordable. Entertainment Music playing in the background from loudspeakers across the building of these superstores helps to also create some refreshing moments in the minds of the shoppers, which makes them loosen up as they enjoy the homemade artistry of popular performing artists and musicians. Hygiene Shopping in an environment that considers hygiene a priority is one that customers consider unique in terms of experience especially as the covid-19 pandemic is yet to be completely wiped out. Seeing the janitors continuously working around the environment to ensure there is cleanliness makes shoppers become confident not just in the offerings but in the conveniences. Parking Spaces A superstore expects to get a lot of customers and there becomes a new challenge to create ease while they shop. Ease could come in the form of creating parking lots to not just accommodate their vehicles but also guarantee the security of their assets. Africa is a unique market and for a superstore to thrive, an understanding of the driving factors needs to be considered in order to create unique offerings. No matter how big or small a store is, it will never grow beyond its ability to create a unique experience for its customers.

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How to Keep Your Business Afloat in Uncertain times

The Covid-19 pandemic had a widespread effect on businesses in many ways that caused huge layoffs, bankruptcy, reduction in the production of the units of goods or services offered, increase in price from suppliers, and change in the way work is done globally. With this pandemic, came the opportunity to become innovative and creative to serve the market demands and the different unseen variables that have influenced the world of business today. Huge Layoffs Start-ups had no constant cash flow as a result of the covid-19 pandemic and needed to only keep key staff. Layoffs then became an option as without considering this solution, there would be a backlog in the payment of salaries which will negatively impact the company. These layoffs affected productivity as the limited staff now had to work longer hours and perform more tasks than before. Bankruptcy Organizations that took off with initial investments or loans from financial institutions and could not sustain the repayment terms as working capital got depleted and there was not enough traction to request for the second tranche of investment, saw their businesses go under as operations came to a grinding halt. Reduction in the units of production Consumers as a result of the covid-19 pandemic focused on just the essentials such as food, healthcare, and education. There has been an increase in the price of foodstuffs and other items which made consumers begin to cut spending as their earnings had not changed. This impacted the usual quantities of items purchased and businesses had to adjust by either adopting production upon request only to curb wastages or production in limited quantities as general consumption dropped due to an increase in prices. Increase in price from suppliers The supply chain is an important loop that affects all stakeholders as they obtain directly from manufacturers and then sell to retailers before reaching the final consumers. When there is a change in the manufacturer’s offer it affects the distributors and suppliers and ultimately affects the final consumer. Thriving In Times of Covid-19 Pandemic Change is inevitable and only organizations that can adapt to the changing times remain sustainable in business. These are some measures to help you keep your business afloat in uncertain times 1. Adopt a remote working system Start-ups have realized that the 5-day work week might not necessarily apply any longer as their team can now work from home and still get the job done. The majority of organizations now have a hybrid system of work where some staff work from home and others work on-site. This ensures productivity as teams can now manage themselves without making the top management resort to micromanagement. Tasks such as data entry, phone calls, receipt and reply of emails, online marketing can now be done by a remote team. 2. Implementation of a cloud-based storage system The use of cloud-based storage system might not have been easily adopted by a large percentage of businesses, before but as covid-19 began to develop resistance and human-human interaction became limited, a cloud-based storage system then became necessary not just for storage of files but for collaborative work and easy referencing of stored documents. 3. Focus on Cash-flow Organizations get into a web of numerous activities that then makes them ignore their core. Inability to focus on their core bring irregularities in their revenue. Guaranteed cash flow is the lifeline of every business even if it does not make a profit initially; there is a huge possibility of breaking even eventually. The focus should be on every activity directly or indirectly that can lead to the generation of revenue for a business. 4. Data-Driven Decisions Companies are trying to curb wastages that could occur in the application of their resources and they begin to pay attention to the data they are generating. Embedded in the customer’s data are insights that could lead to what quantity of items should be produced on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis based on the demand from using predictive analytics. Several tools can be used for collecting data for business purposes, mostly used are Google Forms, Google Analytics and Hubspot, the collected data can now be analyzed using specific tools in data science. 5. Adoption of Wage Earnings System The era of weeks of work before earning a salary has also come under challenge as there is a rise in the demand for freelancers to perform certain tasks without having to provide medical care, workspace, internet services, and all the offers that comes with servicing a full-time staff. Companies need to decide on what roles demand a full-time staff and the ones that demand freelancers, consultants, or part-time staff.

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Why Startups Fail and How To Mitigate this

Technological Startups in Africa are innovative about providing solutions to challenges that exist in Africa. However, with these solutions come several bottlenecks which eventually create a barrier to the survival and sustainability of the business. There are several factors that contribute to the failure of start-ups in Africa and the ability to learn from these failures would support a new way of thinking to help mitigate these risks. In this publication, I would be sharing risk factors from working with not less than 100 companies in the technological, FMCG, retail, agro, fashion, events, confectionary, and manufacturing in providing consultancy services and some of the patterns I found led to the business failure. 1. Huge Injection of Capital Without Traction Generating and implementing an idea has to go through several stages of design thinking to ascertain the viability of such a product before it is released into the marketplace based on the feedback from prospective end users. Due to the fact that some early-stage entrepreneurs have already built a name in the ecosystem can easily make them access funding even when an idea is still just an idea that has not been properly researched but because entrepreneurs sometimes are also very emotionally attached to an idea sometimes, they can make several assumptions without considering the facts and then begin to seek capital inflow to kick-start this idea. Traction is important because it signifies growth and growth could be seen in the form of demand which eventually leads to cash flow. Investing in an idea is too risky and even riskier for an early-stage entrepreneur with limited experience and exposure. In order to ensure an idea would scale, it is important to employ design thinking to limit assumptions. 2. Not Working With the Right Team Not Working with the right team has huge consequences in itself. A start-up should have one core, and it is in the ability to execute with the team. Because most start-ups bootstrap at their early stage, they tend to work with whoever is available and not necessarily the skilled and competent professionals who would hit the ground running and deliver the required expectations. I remember working in a pharmaceutical start-up where mislabeling of medications occurred because the professional involved was not aware of the procedures as a pharmacist would. This could have been a huge mistake if it was unnoticed until it reached the retailer who did checks and found out. The right time would limit the time a task is expected to be done. Start-ups should never play down on experience, proficiency, and competence. In fact, it is necessary to develop specific in-house procedures for hiring that fit the company’s culture. 3. Lack of Product-Market Fit A product could be a fantastic one, but if the market is not ready, then its sustainability is questionable. A very innovative start-up that came with the idea of solving the challenges of travel is GoMyWay, this Start-up was launched in Nigeria but did not thrive. Was the product fit for the market in terms of providing the needed solution to the already existing challenges, I would say yes, however, factors such as kidnapping, assault, killings have created trust in the mind of travelers and so this traveling application that was supposed to connect a traveler with a car with another traveler going in the same direction could not survive because the safety of travelers was in question. 4. Government Regulations Several administrations of government have worked tirelessly to make the business environment conducive, however, there are still gaps to ensure that the start-ups do not get gagged as their benefits are very key to economic development. The recent move to create a start-up bill to ensure that the interest of start-ups can be protected is one to secure sustainability and increase interactions with regulators in such a way that regulators understand the peculiarities of these businesses and work around policies that would not see capital investments go down the ground with just a regulation. I believe the start-up bill would create stakeholders in the overall value-chain and then ease how business is done. There are other factors that contribute to business failure and the listed are some common ones that affect businesses based in Africa. I however believe that as there is an ongoing conversation to create a roundtable for stakeholder’s interaction, there would soon exist synergy in the ecosystem.

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Tools to Increase Your Teams Productivity

Organizations that are result-oriented are usually obsessed with getting the needed work done within the expected time frame as they also expect to get value for the efforts in maintaining their staff strength. There are many metrics used to measure productivity in order to ensure the team always puts the expected concerted efforts with the aim of reaching a target goal, however measuring the team’s productivity has unique advantages such as giving their peak at any given time to assigned tasks and avoiding waste of time on unnecessary tasks. There are consequences if an organization fails to track the productivity of its staff as this would lead to complacency and there would not be much room for improvement since the state of individual and corporate productivity is unknown. Some technological tools to help your team be more productive include: Time Tracking e.g. Timesheets Different technologies have been developed to keep track of time which can then be used to calculate the total utilization of staff. Although the total number of hours spent does not necessarily imply the greatest productivity. Tools such as the digital log-in with fingerprints have helped to make progress, but on the other hand, are timesheets which is a website or an app that can be installed on a mobile device. A person can clock in and clock out and as well as go on break. It is very helpful because the moment a person logs in, it informs the admin of the particular time a login is made by sending an automated email. Pictures of the staff logging in can also be taken while logging in not just to track time automatically but the authenticity of the location, clothes worn, and facial expressions. Metrics of all logins are then summarized daily, weekly, and on a monthly basis. To do Lists e.g Trello Lack of organization on what tasks should be prioritized could lead to randomness in carrying out a job function, however, with a to-do list, weekly tasks can easily be scheduled by each individual. The task of every staff member can also be seen by everyone and not just the admin. When a task has been completed, it can be moved to a new tab called “done or completed”.  The overall weekly task can now be broken into daily priorities of what should be achieved. A team member can easily be motivated to work on their task as the progress made by others can be seen. Team Collaboration e.g Slack, Bitrix24 While emails are important for work-based communication, there have been ethical issues around whether team members should keep their official email active on their mobile devices or not when work is completed for the day. Although most email services have features to support the receipt of official mails on mobile devices, it does not significantly support team collaboration especially on other office activities such as quick reminders, memos, an emergency meeting, or informal schedules. Tools for team collaboration can easily be installed and messages in the form of text, images, or documents can be sent directly to a person’s inbox or shared on a general or private channel as created by the admin and other users. The encryption in the use of these platforms is also necessary in order to keep the confidentiality of every conversation. Brainstorming e.g Stormboard The user experience (UX) in the use of tools to support or replicate a physical experience is a fantastic approach most especially when a team has to brainstorm on a variety of ideas. Brainstorming has to do with coming up with new ideas by different team members and making a vote on which should be accepted on the note. Brainstorming tools make this happen by supporting the expressing of every individual’s opinion which can be seen by all and making a vote on which of the ideas to accept or implement. Calendars e.g Google Calendar, Calendly One way to keep track of what the future holds is to record every single thing. Executives are usually involved in a plethora of activities and although the brain can keep millions of information, it is best to always have the good old diary for keeping important meetings. Online diaries in the form of calendars can now help professionals become productive as they can get reminders of upcoming meetings or events without having to forget what matters There are many tools to help maximize productivity and I hope the ones reviewed here would help add value to respective job roles.  

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How to ensure Financial Interventions are Effective

In the history of providing financial interventions for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, a mix of funding in different areas, to support the textile, manufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and housing sectors have received a boost to ensure the growth and sustainability of these industries in order to reduce the burden and effects of unemployment in Nigeria. What comes to mind is that the support provided for these small businesses should produce a cumulative effect in job and wealth creation as well as contribute to National and Economic development by moving most Nigerians out of the poverty line into the empowerment line. However, there are concerns about whether this very goal is being achieved and brings us to clearly evaluate whether there has been an improvement in the activities of SMEs or not. Here are procedures to follow in order to ensure that government interventions are properly utilized. 1. Conduct an on-site verification of SMEs The sustainability of any financial intervention is based on the authenticity of the existence of an actual business. Due to the fact that most SMEs would like to benefit from any ongoing intervention, they do everything possible to qualify for funding opportunities and some do not have an existing business. When they receive the funding by establishing a miniature business to look like an existing one, they take the funds and misappropriate for their personal lifestyles. 2. Audit of their financial statements The healthiness of a business can be determined from its financial records. There are important records to look out for when auditing a small business. They are Cash flow statement Balance sheet Profit and loss statement A business with these financial statements that are generated based on Proper day-to-day recording of every single transaction shows that their ability to gather useful data and pay attention to happenings around their business is important and this is a major criterion before receiving funding, especially recent financial statements of between 3-6 months. 3. Business Development Training Certified business development professionals with a deep understanding of the metrics to track what improvements need to be made in a business to make it competitive should be recruited to work with a number of prospective beneficiaries of financial interventions and note what challenges they are facing. The reports for each business would then be the framework to release financing after evaluating the needs of such businesses rather than giving out an equal amount to all beneficiaries. 4. Funding Should Be Given Based on Performance Implementation of the solutions to the challenges found should be made into phases, this is to enable the release of funding to solve a certain challenge in the business per time. A good recommendation is called “Payment by Result (PBR)” which means until the organization produces the expected result of solving a particular challenge in their businesses, they would not qualify for another round of funding. These measures would enable the expectations of creating jobs and proper utilization of the funding to be achieved. Emmanuel Otori is the Co-founder at Abuja Data School and has had over 8 years of experience working with over 50 SMEs across Nigeria as well as consulting experience on the GEM Project of the World Bank and facilitating training for different private and public institutions.

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