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Sales and Marketing

How to Leverage Data for Business Growth

Many organizations are seeking ways to offer their products and services to customers in an efficient way in order to save time, ease their processes and provide the highest quality of delivery as at the expected time. One major opportunity that most start-ups are not taking advantage of in their quest for efficiency is the availability of data in the public domain as well as the internal data they are gathering to make business intelligent decisions. When is mined correctly, it helps you act with precision and less assumption and it reduces the margin for error and ultimately makes your business thrive. How To Gain Actionable Insights From Data Data gathering Gathering of data is the most rigorous step as without data, the ability to make decision is hampered. Assumptions would thrive and there would be much gap in the margin of errors. Before collecting data, the scope of the project in terms of questions to be asked in the survey, the duration of the project and field enumerators to be used as well as medium for gathering the data should be known. These tools are for gathering data Surveymonkey, Google forms, Microsoft forms, Hubspot and Google analytics. Data Cleansing Data cleansing or wrangling is the art of removing unwanted items not needed in working with the data collected such as symbols, extra spacing, grammatical error etc. Data Analysis To analyze any form of data that has been collected, these tools are the most comprehensive tools in the marketplace, they include Microsoft Excel, SPSS, STATA, Python, R programming, MATLAB, E-views. Data Visualization Data visualization is the art of representing data in the form of charts in order for comprehension by stakeholders. Examples of tools for data visualization are Power BI, Tableau etc. Business Intelligence The action taken having seen the feedback hidden in the data collected is called business intelligence (BI). This is the most important aspect in order to act with precision. What is Predictive Analytics? Predictive Analytics is a form of using records from past data collected over a period of time to determine what the future holds in the form of forecasts. Predictive Analytics is a branch of data analysis that helps to make decisions in the business world. Tools for Predictive Analytics There are free and paid tools for predictive analytics and they are numerous in the form of software applications. They can be utilized by anyone who has competence in gathering data from customers through surveys or from a database and knowledge of which tool is applicable to best analyze certain data. Non-coding tools Microsoft Excel SPSS STATA 2. Coding tools Python R Programming Application of Predictive Analytics Stock Control Staff Utility Price fixing Managing of Peak Times Determining call rates The future of business will be driven by African start-ups that can use the data gathered to study behavioral tendencies of customers and how to serve their needs with a greater level of efficiency. Read Also: Thriving Through Disruptions – Tips for Startups  

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How to Maximize Social Media for Ecommerce

The emergence of ecommerce in Africa has seen online shoppers take advantage of the convenience it offers, as goods can now be delivered directly to their doorsteps while they also have the flexibility of selecting the payment channel either using their debit cards or payment upon delivery option. However, as ecommerce continues to evolve and shape how business is done, there are numerous challenges that has been associated with making orders online, these challenges if unresolved over a long period of time, would make the trust the customer has to completely diminish as the reputation of the businesses would also be affected which would reduce the demands and sales. Social Media for Ecommerce A major growth that ecommerce is experiencing in Africa is the transition from building enormous ecommerce sites to the use of different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and most especially Instagram to deliver products and services to online shoppers. The advantages of utilizing social media for ecommerce is numerous Social media platforms require no payment to utilize them. Building followership on social media is relatively easier compared to making a website rank well using digital marketing. Interaction between online vendors and shoppers is instant. Online vendors do not necessarily need to have the product until an order is made. No requirement of any form of maintenance for the platforms used. No formal business registration is required to become an online vendor. While the use of social media platforms for ecommerce has scaled ecommerce in Africa, a major challenge experienced by shoppers is trust. Online shoppers order for products and receive a totally different order, a damaged order or one that is totally different from what was displayed on the platform. This has been seen with items such as confectionaries, fashion, hair extensions, utensils, electronics etc. The inability of customers to get a refund or a replacement of the item ordered when it does not meet up with the specification is a big gap that is causing customers to reconsider when making a purchase on social media. Customers are well informed and are now beginning to compare prices of items in a physical retail store. Reputation Management Techniques for Online Vendors Reputation management by online vendors is very important as it can help to build a real business from scratch and not a side gig as is done by most vendors. To build reputation, it is important to do the following Create a relationship with prospective shoppers by engaging in visuals such as posting a video of the person engaged in business as an online vendor. A lot of shoppers want to relate with a person they see and the ability to have a visual can help in building reputation. Stick to your terms of order and delivery. A product that should be delivered within 3 days should not exceed the expected day of delivery, and if there are changes, the online shopper should be informed. There should be no hidden charges when engaging in ecommerce using social media platforms. Conducting Due Diligence Before Making Payment To avoid losing their monies to fraudulent vendors, shoppers are to conduct dues diligence on the vendors Read through the comment section of the vendors from 3 months, you would either find complaints or compliments. Start with an order that does not cost much in order to understand the vendor’s mode of operation. Insist on paying through an online payment platform such as Paystack or Flutterwave in order to be able to channel complaints appropriately. To ensure customers are protected, it is necessary to have a system that ensures goods are only paid for when the customer receives them and confirms they are in good condition. This way both the buyer and seller’s interest are protected.

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Ten Marketing Tips for Startups

As an entrepreneur, marketing is critical to the growth of your business. It is one of the most powerful instruments to get your company up and running as it provides the platform to introduce your brand to the world. This is what is known as marketing/promotion and though we know that it may sometimes take a huge chunk of your budget, it is important to know that the result is always worth the expenses. Here are 10 major marketing tips that are extremely useful for promoting your brand, irrespective of your financial position: The first rule, know your clientele: When you know your target audience, it is easier to devise marketing strategies that create a real connection between your brand and customers. Therefore, it is vital to know your potential clientele and the message you are trying to pass across to them so as not to lose their attention. Social media marketing: Just like it is possible to feel like you know someone after 10 minutes of scrolling through their Instagram page, so also, it is very likely that your potential clients will quickly form an opinion about your brand based on your social media posts without ever being exposed to your team, services or products. That said, engage a social media expert who understands how you want to portray your brand and who knows the best way to grow your network of customers. Do not be afraid to change strategy: Be honest about what is working or not. Not every business model has to advertise via regular social media channels. Whilst Instagram may work very well for marketing one product, radio jingles may be more useful for another product. If you have tried a strategy and it keeps failing, do not be afraid to try something different, including billboard adverts, flyers, radio/TV adverts. Remember, your target market will determine the best marketing strategy. E-mail marketing: This is an alternative marketing strategy. Your database is a gold mine and what you do with your record of phone numbers/emails can possibly skyrocket your progress into success. You can choose to send periodic updates, newsletters, discount codes, etc. to the contacts you have accumulated over the years. You must however be careful not to infringe on applicable data privacy regulations. You must ensure that the numbers/emails are only used for intended and agreed-upon purposes. Connect emotionally: Most great brands have built up their image using compelling stories to drive connection with their clients. No one is saying you should make up stories or tell untrue tales, but there is nothing wrong with giving your customers a brand that they can easily connect with. A business can use real-life day-to-day experiences as a marketing strategy to connect with its potential customers. Socialize: It is important to make out time to attend networking events, seminars, workshops, religious and political engagements that are relevant to the line of your business. You have the opportunity to market your business to every person you meet. Therefore, always be prepared for impromptu conversations. At such events be clear in terms of your outcome and act on your goal; initiate a conversation, exchange cards, target potential customers, distribute free branded gift items to attendees, etc. Follow-up: It is not enough to attend events. After interacting with a prospective client or customer, it is also very important to immediately follow up with a call, email, or text message; while the memory of your meeting and interaction is still fresh in the mind of the other person. During a follow-up interaction, use formal greetings, speak clearly, listen, be respectful, suggestive, and not imposing. Be resilient and interested in getting positive feedback. Build products that clients can trust: There is nothing greater than having returning users who recommend your products to their friends/families because they were satisfied with your product. Referrals have proven to be one of the most effective and resourceful marketing tools for businesses. It is therefore very important for a business to focus on earning the trust of its customers. Your customers will only recommend a product they trust. Build a client referral system: Word of mouth referrals have proven to be a useful key in influencing purchasing decisions especially for emerging businesses. Therefore, strategically build a system whereby existing clients trust your product and are inspired to let people in on your fantastic product/services. You can take the further step of rewarding those who recommend your product by creating a bonus/point earning system. Form strategic partnerships with other brands: This is one of the easiest ways to build your reputation as a startup. Many small businesses have sparked public interest within a few hours of announcing their partnership with bigger brands. While it may be impossible to collaborate with the biggest brands yet, there are always other brands you can strategically connect with to improve sales and visibility.  

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How to Leverage 360 Degrees Marketing Technique to Increase Sales

Sales are a determinant of whether a business would survive or not. The lifeblood of every business is embedded in the day-to-day activities that can generate consistent cash flow. Some organizations get caught up in trying to do many things are at a time and this affects their downline and ultimately the finances of the organization. Many organizations may not necessarily know that they are doing too much until there is a sharp drop in revenue. A sharp drop in revenue is an indication of many factors and this symptom can mean that some core activities such as staff retention, customer service, lack of repeat sales, poor product management, and unclear definitions of the target market are suffering. If there are consistent sales, a business can survive the most difficult phases as cash flow is directly linked to the overall activities. The most important question to ask then is “how can more sales be made?” Without asking this question, the business risks every other form of major distraction. The 360 degrees Marketing Technique The 360 degrees marketing technique can also be called Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). This technique is a mix of several activities that organizations are engaged in to increase awareness about a product or service. The perception of visibility by a customer over a long period consistently makes a brand become the preferred choice of a customer whenever they need to make a purchasing decision as the brand is the first to come to mind due to the number of exposures they have had with the prospect and vice-versa. 1. Email Marketing Email is one of the easiest and fastest ways to reach a large audience and when properly deployed has the potential to create a consistent stream of customers, as it takes the form of a closed user group through the reception of newsletters by the customers and overtime a relationship is built through readership as the audience are regularly updated about the activities of the organization or products and services. Email Marketing also helps to create some form of targets as there are metrics that could show who reads a particular newsletter and how many times. Observing the behavior of the readers and the type of content they are reading could initiate a purchase decision by offering a product that compliments what they read. 2. Blogging Blogging is similar to email marketing, but while email marketing is only sent to subscribers or users generated through a third party, blogging reaches out to all possible audiences that are online and serves as a tool to consistently inform customers about the product, services, or activities of a business. Regular blogging should average up to 3-5 blog posts weekly to make conversions; this done for 6 months is a guarantee for increased sales. 3. Granting Media Interviews As much as the new media is emerging greatly, the traditional media is still the preferred option for most audiences, and the ability to use these tools such as television, radio, and print media is key to reaching a lot of people. The conversations on these platforms create a direct connection with the listeners as it is visual. These interviews, serve as a vehicle for the firm to share industry-based experiences and this ultimately makes them thought leaders in that space. Over time, such personality becomes a face and voice in their sector. 4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Search Engine Optimization is arguably the first on the list of all techniques as it reduces the time, effort, and energy to directly reach out to prospective customers. SEO guarantees that prospects can easily find an offer and make a purchase decision as it places a brand right where the audience is seeking answers. Sales are also made round the clock with no limitation of where the customer buys from. 5. Networking Getting exposure as a Founder for your business is necessary to build a personal brand first, as this benefit extends to a business brand as trust can easily be built when people can interact with the owner of the business. A core part of business visibility is to ensure that business owners continuously put themselves out there as many times as possible, and this consistency over time builds loyalty right from the onset and sales. While there are many other techniques in addition to the ones mentioned, engaging in one or more of these activities has the potential to increase the revenue base of the business and reachability.

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Developing a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan helps you identify your target customer and the channels you will employ to reach them, persuade them to purchase your product and deliver your value proposition. Some of the elements of a marketing plan are: Market Analysis How large is the market? What are the historic or future growth rates? What are the market trends and how is the market changing? Addressable market Segmentation Entry point Industry Analysis How is the industry organized? Competitive environment Barriers to entry Competitors Opportunity What is your entry point and why? Is a real problem being solved? Compelling need Can you successfully compete in the industry? Marketing Plan Market research Target Customer strategy – profile/buying decision Channel Positioning Branding Pricing Communication Sales Revenue model In summary, a marketing plan is a strategic document where you make the business opportunity case for your product or services. Read Also: Ten Marketing Tips for Startups

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What You Need to Know About Customer Types

The lifeline of every business is enmeshed in the number of stakeholders it interacts with as well as their activities in relation to the business. These stakeholders include the suppliers of the raw materials needed for the business to manufacture its offerings, the employees or human resources who engage in the production and the customers who are the end users and the most important stakeholder in the cycle. The Customer Customers are consumers or end users that products or services are made for in order to satisfy their needs with a series of unique experiences. The customer in-turn has a unique role to play as their consistent purchase makes them become the most important stakeholder in a business. The major reason businesses collapse is for lack of customers as customers generate cash-flow for the business whenever they make purchases therefore contributing to increasing the sustainability of the business to remain afloat. The uniqueness of the customer does not trivialize the role of the supplier and employee but then without the customer, the aim of building a business without an end user is defeated. The Nigerian market is characterized with different categories of customers. The ability to understand the type of customers a business attracts through their purchasing behavior and data driven approach will support the growth of a business. This understanding helps businesses position their offerings correctly in order to attract the specific customer segment they want and also secure a reasonable market share through intentional strategies.  Here are the five customer types and what we need to know about their personality traits in order to sell to them Innovators (2.5%) Innovators are the type of customers whose buying decisions are risk driven. Innovators are the youngest in age and willing to experiment upon seeing a product or service they desire to use. The personality trait of innovators is that they are impulse buyers, their need for adopting a new product has no regards with respect to whether they have budgeted for it or not. Because they are risk takers, they easily adopt new technological solutions and while they can easily help brands to get exposure by putting these products in the presence of other potential users, they might lose their financial resources if such solutions fail based on some limitations. The Innovators account for only 2.5% of purchases made. Early Adopters (13.5%) These categories of customers are the second set of individuals to adopt an innovation after the Innovators, they are called the Early Adopters and they account for only 13.5% of purchases made. The Early adopters are also very young in age just like the Innovators and have a high social status and reasonable disposable income. They are opinionated and can be regarded as thought leaders. Because Early Adopters are judicious in their choice of adoption, they can easily maintain a central communication position, especially in giving reviews. Early Majority (34%) The Early major only adopts new solutions when a degree of time has passed after the launch of the solution into the marketplace. The time taken before they adopt any solution is usually longer than those of the Adopters and Innovators. They usually tend to be slower when it comes to the adoption of a solution and only belong to the above average income class, however their contact with Early Adopters eventually informs their decisions about eventual purchases. They also rarely hold an opinion which is a direct opposite of what the Early Adopters do. They account for 34% of all purchases. Late Majority (34%) The Late Majority only adopt any form of innovation after the average in the society has done that. Their approach of innovation is with a high degree of skepticism. They are far from being risk takers as they are low on disposable income and want to avoid mistakes when making purchases since their income is limited. They are also characterized with very little financial education, are in contact with those in the Early majority and their peers, and possess not much opinion leadership. They account for 34% of all purchases just like the Early Majority. Laggards (16%) The laggards as the name implies are the last to adopt any form of innovation. These individuals have no respect for change as they hold on to their first generation of solutions and do not consider a change of such a solution except if there is a breakdown of such a product or it no longer works again, only these circumstances makes them embrace change. They are traditionalists and are usually elderly, have very little disposable income, lowest financial education and are only in touch with family and friends All customer types make their unique contributions to grow a business; their role in the value chain supports the sustainability of a business in different dimensions. The early majority and the late majority are usually the difficult set of customers, however learning to sell to them by winning their confidence and serving them right, has the ability to increase repeat purchase as they both account for the highest percentage in overall purchases made. Customers are never the same and understanding how to serve them uniquely in a particular market, holds the key to profitability.

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How To Validate Start-up Ideas With Design Thinking

Innovators are concerned about building a product that will have a huge impact on the lives of people by increasing the quality of living standards, addressing a pain point or an alternative that is cost effective for its consumers. With these great thoughts comes a big question that has to be answered before launching a product or service and it is the question of “is there a market”? The addressable market size becomes a question to answer in order to ensure that when a product is manufactured, it will find users or consumers who are willing to utilize the product based on the offer that is being given. One of the techniques that most successful start-ups in the world has applied to ascertain whether a product will sell or not is called “Design Thinking” Leading Change One of the failures is the assumption that there is a market, is one that can be seen or witnessed in solutions that have been made for people. An example is the construction of an overhead bridge for pedestrians to avoid crossing the expressway. However, the humans who this provision has been made for usually ignore the bridge and use the expressway to connect to their routes, which even makes their transit riskier than the use of the overhead bridge. Why would anywhere risk their lives to cross an expressway when there is an overhead bridge beside them? Failure in the consideration of what would drive people to use the overhead bridge is what is lacking and why the preference for the use of the expressway. Would these same people use the overhead bridge if there were possible factors considered before making the designs? The answer is an absolute yes. The failure in the use of the overhead bridge is driven around the fact that the normal tendencies of human behavior were not considered before constructing the bridge. Human Centered Design Design thinking takes into consideration the natural tendencies of human behavior before designing a solution. This will ensure shared responsibility from both parties such that there is already a market with reasonable demand to capture a market share than can sustain the business when eventually presented to the users. The failure of most start-up ideas is embedded in the emotional attachment that founders have to their ideas which makes it difficult for them to be open to feedback from the prospective users. However, a fact based finding should be prioritized against emotions when creating a solution. How Design Thinking Drives Innovation There are five stages in the design thinking process 1. Empathize Being able to empathize with customers most especially when it is a challenge or pain point that makes the purchasing or usage of a product or service difficult for them gives you an opportunity to learn closely from them. Customers who have a reference point of a better offering would always voice out hence, active listening to their challenges is a great feedback for start-ups. This stage consists of interviews in getting to know what the ideal scenario is to prospective customers. 2. Define Having interviewed the prospects, it then becomes necessary to begin to define what the challenges are from all the opinions gathered from several interviews conducted with stakeholders. The age group of those facing these challenges, their income level, experience, education and location becomes parameters to pay attention to. 3. Ideate The aim of conducting interviews and surveys by visiting the field is to be able to generate a product or service that has a fit for the market. All the feedback that has been given now needs to undergo divergent or convergent processes where divergent takes the several opinions and create solutions around them while convergent thinking helps to narrow down to the best idea. These two thought processes helps to come up with what the proposed solution to be developed would be. 4. Prototype Prototyping involves making a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a minimum viable product is one that is made with the minimum resources in order to furthermore see how customers interact with the product or service in its pilot or beta phase. The feedback from the usage and engage would then help to determine whether a full product would be manufactured or not. For digital products such as web or mobile apps, tools such as Figma or Adobe XD can be used to make a prototype. 5. Test The testing stage helps to pick the ideas that work and move very fast to implement them. If there are impediments or bugs, then it has to be corrected. When the product passes the testing stage, a complete product category can now be created and ready to make entry into the market. The first two stages in the process of design thinking helps to look out for evidence by carrying out Primary Market Research (PMR) to ascertain by means of qualitative and quantitative analysis the fact there are evidences to either support whether a challenge really exists or not for a solution to be created. Founders should learn to embrace what the primary market research presents in order to avoid losing big as a result of the assumptions of what they either expect the market to be or their emotional connection to the product. Read Also: Ten Marketing Tips for Startups

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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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