GROWING YOUR BUSINESS EVEN WITHOUT SUFFICIENT CAPITAL
A couple of months ago, we conducted a market research for a client that manufactures and distributes a product which falls within the category of Fast Moving Consumer Goods [FMCGs]. Their target was to push their product into same league as global brands with a strong national presence in Nigeria.
The research was focused on Port Harcourt and the drag net captured three LGAs in Rivers State; Obio-Akpor, Phalga and Eleme. That means every neighbourhood in Port Harcourt was captured. Now, this is the interesting part!
Our client is chasing the bigger players and what that means is that they have been slicing off the market share of the big players just by penetrating the south-south market deeply. However, within the smaller neighbourhoods, especially in Abuloma, we noticed that a much smaller company was slicing off our client’s own market share by penetrating deeply into the Abuloma market and other neighborhoods.
So what’s the point?
Most small businesses and startups lack the financial muscle and operational capacity to give the big players a run for their money. Instead of just dreaming of the day you will square up with the big players and possibly beat them, you can actually focus your limited resources and energy on carving a niche for yourself.
What’s your lowest hanging fruit?
One neighbourhood after another, Habib Yoghurt now has a strong presence in most Nigerian cities including Port Harcourt. If it is one store you can get, give a razor sharp focus to it and penetrate the immediate market deeply, it generates revenue to keep you afloat and also gives you the much needed traction with which you can eventually lure investors and even expand. Before you get your 1000 subscribers, focus on the first 100 and before that, focus on the first 10. Scale down your operations to the barest minimum that your resources can carry. It’s called a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
By all means, find that one street, neighborhood, company, demographic, etc and penetrate it DEEPLY. Be an underdog, and if you don’t have the privilege of a bird’s eye view, capitalize on the privilege of a worm’s eye view. It’s luring to want to flesh out your full vision at once, but building up in milestones is more sustainable than trying to do it all at once.
Think about it. What has been the most rewarding source of revenue for you? Focus on it and penetrate that market deeply. You don’t have plenty seeds to scatter, why cut your only seed into several pieces?
Written by Maple Dappa
If you need help in any area, we are here to provide custom solutions. Let’s hear from you, send an email to wecare@mapemond.com and you could get a Free Brand Audit!
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A BEAUTIFUL SPOT THAT DIDN’T DESERVE A SECOND VISIT
Starting a business is one thing, building a business that not only stands the test of time but leaves lasting positive impressions on your clients, is another. My colleagues and I went out for some drinks at a new spot one of us had discovered; we decided it will be great to give it a shot. We all got there and sat back to take in the space; cool spot, great brand name. They took it up a notch by incorporating the name in their choice of materials for the interior design. Ingenious! The attendants were all smartly dressed in lovely branded T-shirts and the setting had a lovely rooftop view.
Generally, they had ticked off a few boxes on my list of what a great brand should be, but in a few minutes I was forced to rethink my review. More than 20minutes after our arrival, no attendant had come to take our order and efforts to call their attention were futile. So much for a great space, hmmm!
Eventually, we caught the attention of one of the attendants and a plain, ill-crafted menu was given to us. We expected that a menu befitting the space and design flow will be presented, but it was a mere A4 sheet with black print. No lamination, no art, nothing!
Anyway, we placed our orders but were gobsmacked at the cluelessness of the attendant when one of us had a few questions about the meal she intended to order. The platter of surprises was far from full as they kept serving more disappointments. After the stipulated time that they gave for our meals to be ready, we neither saw Chinaware nor silver cutlery and none of the waiters had the courtesy to apologize for the delay or affirm the food was getting prepared. After a prolonged wait, the food was served and it took complaints from us to elicit an apology from the attendant, who obviously had little or no training or knowledge on the rudiments of customer service.
Though the meal and ambience were wonderful, we had definitely struck off coming back to the establishment neither were we going to recommend it to anyone we knew. We were put-off by the poor service and nonchalant employees so much that we had no good reviews to put up. What’s the point in this?
At times, people think once you have a building with aesthetics and can afford some labour, your business is set. Not so! Branding a business goes beyond the buildings, aesthetics and employing people who wear uniforms; a distinct personality has to be created for your business in every way possible. Though the establishment in our aforementioned story had a desirable ambience (first impression), the services failed to portray a good ‘personality’ (character and conduct). If they had paid some attention to adequately training their staff to understand the importance of quality service as well as the vision, mission and core values, maybe the outcome would have been different.
Once the basics are addressed, your business will be sure-footed on its way to becoming a brand in every ramification; from name to service delivery. Once your customers are pleased with what your brand offers, ALOHA! to awesome reviews and customers that know your worth and will gladly pay for your services while they invite others to drink from the fountain of your proven brand!
If you will remember one thing, it is this;
Branding begins its journey from internal coordination before it gets to external communications.
Written by Kosisochukwu Ikeme
Do you need help to make branding give you better results? Then send us an email via wecare@mapemond.com
Keep Your Brand Visible
We came across this pack of writing notes on the table of a top level business executive.
It got our attention severally and we are certain it gets that of other visitors as well.
We call it brandcasting; souvenirs like this are not mere gifts that we give away, they are transmitters we strategically place at the right places for our brand to be silently announced to more people.
Invest in souvenirs that folks will really use, we recommend items that other people will also see and get curious about.
Is your brand presently sitting on people’s tables, walls, cars, keyholes, etc?
We refer to it as the stickivity question, when customers eventually need your product/service, will they remember your brand?
If you need help with making your brand memorable, we are here to provide custom solutions. Let’s hear from you, send an email to wecare@mapemond.com
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THE OLD MAN’S WISDOM
A certain man once owned lots of properties in the city of Port Harcourt. Over time some relatives came to him to be assisted with their accommodation challenges. He dedicated a particular property of his at Aggrey Road to that purpose; he allotted rooms and apartments to them according to the size of their families. And he charged them ten times lesser than the prevailing house rent rates.
In the same property at Aggrey Road, he had tenants who were not relatives and so paid the full rent. For example, a non-relative could be paying 150k while a relative was paying just 15k per annum for same apartment size and facilities.
For most part of the years that they lived in the man’s property, the relatives kept defaulting in paying their rent. So the man gave out the property to a neutral person to manage, and trouble began. They spread news all over the place that their own relative (Oga Landlord) was bullying them, that was the picture they painted.
The matter got to the compound Chiefs back in their village, so they summoned everyone to hear from them. Oga Landlord opted to speak last; when he started, he narrated the actual story and then presented his own copies of receipts issued in the past as proof of the paltry sum he was charging them. He said he wasn’t even charging them for profit since it was ‘help’ he was offering, but because he had several wives and children, and he is aged, he knew the relatives might want to cause trouble in the future. So he decided to issue receipts regardless of the amount involved, as a reminder that they are tenants.
The need for keeping records and documents in business cannot be overemphasized. You’ve got to keep proof of transactions, purchases, compliance with the laws of the land and even the existence of your business.
If you need help with organizing your business or organization, we are here to provide custom solutions. Let’s hear from you, send an email to wecare@mapemond.com
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EVERYONE’S WORK MATTERS
Building a loyal and effective team is one of the most critical factors in building a sustainable brand, but there’s a silent malware constantly disrupting the process of building a team. Let’s call it the Superiority Complex.
The idea is yours or originated from you, so everyone else is a Lilliputian around you, almighty Gulliver. You may have conceptualised the venture, you may have even built the product, but you must see the value of everyone in your team and their importance to the vision.
Illustration 1
If your business will succeed, so many things must fall in place to make it happen beyond ideation and product development. The person who writes marketing content is important, the person who takes care of everyone’s welfare is important, the person who keeps the work space tidy is important, no work should be described as “just” — just to clean, just to write a copy, and so on.
Putting an effective business system together is like having a super functional automobile; from the gear system to oiling to air conditioning, and so on, all systems have to be in shape. Likewise your business, all units need to be in shape for you to have an effective system. Everyone’s work matters.
Illustration 2
I see many young entrepreneurs basking in the euphoria of having a “great idea” with no grasp on the basics of practical business administration, so the attached photos are from a basic course we usually offer for a fee, but I am sharing it here for free as part of the commitment to encourage those who need the knowledge. What we call “basic” could be a “breakthrough” to someone else. There is love in sharing, right?
Illustration 3
If you need help with organizing your business or organization, we are here to provide custom solutions. Let’s hear from you, send an email to wecare@mapemond.com
#BuildYourBrand #TheRightWay
By All Means, Mitigate Key Man Risk
One major reason, amongst others, why it is difficult for brand owners and founders in Nigeria to establish sustainable and effective systems/structures is KEY MAN Risk.
The core of the venture is centered around one man without whom far too little or nothing happens. While this is the case with many who have been trying to build something from ‘nothing’, you must desire and work at creating systems that can run even without you. Key Man Risk is often a consideration even for big time investors.
What happens to your clients’ projects if you are indisposed for an extended period of time for any reason? Asides that, as you aim for more clients, you surely will need help, not just in terms of hiring people, but at the decision making level. Otherwise, your employees will all go home once you are no more available.
Yes, there are issues of distrust and poor commitment with some persons that you bring on board your venture, but there are ways of dealing with those issues. Find the approach that works for you and adopt it.
The question you must keep asking is, can the venture run without you? Can you sell it off (even if you don’t intend to) and it keeps running well? By all means, mitigate key man risk. It draws investors, bigger clients, and gives your venture a solid base.
A sustainable structure is one of the core essentials for strong brands. Don’t just desire to be like Google, Coca-Cola, Facebook and the rest, constantly seek to think and act like them, or create your strategic path.
If you need help with organizing your business or organization, we are here to provide custom solutions. Let’s hear from you, send an email to wecare@mapemond.com
#BuildYourBrand #TheRightWay
AN ADVERTISING MISTAKE YOU SHOULD AVOID
If you had just a second to talk about your business, what will you say?
We see the mistake repeated everywhere, and we keep telling our clients and those who care to listen, billboards are not for plenty talk.
Outdoor advertising is like a flash, you deliver your message so that a moving vehicle gets it in a glance.
Always imagine you have just a second, say what matters most about your business. Deliver the message in one short sentence.
Additional Tip: Use a solid colour to force attention.
Thinking of doing any kind of advert?? MAPEMOND has got you covered.
Let’s hear from you, send an email to wecare@mapemond.com
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Image Credit: lamar.com
- Published in Marketing