SHOULD YOU WRITE BUSINESS PROPOSALS?
By Maple Dappa.
The question of whether you should write a business proposal or not is one that only you can ultimately answer, but I hope that the thoughts shared in this article will provide insights to guide you.
Let me first share an experience with you to lay the foundations and framework for my thoughts.
In 2020, a potential client requested a meeting with Mapemond Brand Consulting
They have been into oil & gas services and chemicals but wanted to diversify into the FMCG and e-commerce space.
They got a sole distribution deal with a foreign company to import certain products into Nigeria.
The task was to create a strategy that will be fully and seamlessly integrated into the parent company.
When we arrived at the meeting, the CEO handed over the proposal document of another competing firm to us. He said we should study it and come up with our own proposal of what we could do better. Due to the body language, we knew what was at play.
Typically, there are three different reasons why a client may request a proposal:
1. To get an articulated breakdown of what you can do for them and the cost implication.
2. To get you off their back.
3. To steal ideas from multiple sources and attempt to solve the problem by themselves.
This client belonged to category number 3.
The other firm did a great job with their proposal even though we had a far better edge when it came to distribution strategy, market penetration, access to resources, existing network, and brand strategy.
We asked the client what was his concern with the firm’s proposal, he was evasive with his response.
We wrote the proposal but withheld the key details and quoted higher than the other firm.
We were not keen to work with the client because the harmony needed between us and the client was already questionable from what we perceived and other pointers I can’t mention for confidentiality sake.
By the way, the other firm spent huge funds to do awesome graphic designs and top-notch printing of their proposal!
Several months have gone by and the project is yet to take off since the last we checked.
Anyway, if you have to submit proposals, don’t be desperate, read between the lines and protect your ideas.
Now to the question of whether you should write business proposals, note the following and decide for yourself.
1. Proposals are best for situations where you already have some form of contact with the client or you have an insider or a strong referral (except for instances where the procurement/contracting policy abhors such contact).
2. Unsolicited proposals are time wasters to a large extent, it’s best to invest more time in networking your way to the people you want to submit the proposal to.
3. If you are seeking sponsorship, get started with the project on your own first and gain significant traction with some level of media exposure. This is especially for NGOs and social impact ventures.
It works the other way round too, but give thought to these and apply as you deem fit.
Yes, we didn’t really answer the question, but if you ponder on the thoughts, you will decide what is best for you and your business.
#DoBusinessBetter
WE PRESENT MAPEMOND BUSINESS ACADEMY!
We realized that while sharing random business posts on social media was good for building the business acumen of Nigerian entrepreneurs, there was still a huge gap with easily accessible and well-structured business courses that will equip business owners to build bigger and better businesses.
After several months of doing the background work, we present to you MAPEMOND BUSINESS ACADEMY (Physical & Online options for all courses).
Discount currently applies to all courses for the next couple of days. We maintain a small class for physical classes, so book your seat right away!
#DoBusinessBetter
GRASPING THE RELATIONSHIP AND DIFFERENCE: BRANDING, MARKETING, AND SALES
5 MUST-HAVE QUALITIES TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL LOGO
Written by Veronica Johnson
In this competitive digital arena, businesses have to do everything in their capacity to stay at the top. When you are trying to establish a new brand in the market and extend your products/services, you need to be ready with plenty of things.
Today, creating a unique brand identity has become more important than ever. How would you make your brand get recognized in the market? Will you start a marketing campaign? Will you create a website to attract online traffic or try to engage your audience through social media?
Yes, yes, and yes, you have to do it all eventually. However, the first thing you need to do before starting anything is creating your company’s logo.
Undoubtedly a logo is the first point of contact for any brand, and it is meant to identify. Your logo must be something that makes your audience instantly recognize you in the crowd.
Let’s take the example of Audi’s logo-the iconic four intertwined rings. You don’t need Audi written along with the logo to understand it is an Audi car. Well, that’s the power of a logo.
Image Credit: istock.com
What Is A Logo And Why Do You Need It?
A logo is basically a combo of text, images and sometimes animation. It is more of a symbolic representation of a brand that helps create an identity and attract customers.
A logo is the first impression of a company, and it has to be powerful. It should depict the core objective of the company, yet at the same time, it should be human-centric. Using emotion in logo design has also become a popular option for many companies to establish a human connection.
Without a logo, you would not be able to establish an identity in the market. Irrespective of the size, structure, and goal, every business needs a unique logo to stand apart. Without a logo, you will possibly get lost in the crowd, and all your efforts will go in vain.
#1 As Simple As It Can Be
You would not want your customers to get confused about your logo and not be able to register in their minds. If you want to make a lasting impact, you need to keep your logo as simple as possible.
You would notice that most of the successful and impactful logos in history are super simple. For instance, the single swoosh of Nike or the bitten apple design of Apple. These logos get instantly picked up in the crowd and become easy to remember.
Hence, simplicity should be the key ingredient while you are creating logo designs. Indeed, a simple design can depict your brand voice and become easily recognizable in the market.
#2 Make It Relevant
Apart from using simple text images and colors, relevance in your design is the most important characteristic. You cannot go with a design that is extremely opposite to what your brand does.
You need to communicate the personality and identity of your brand through the logo. Like the use of the right fonts and colors in the logo will compel the customers to connect with the brand.
For instance, if a company is selling kids’ toys, it should not create a logo with monochrome colors; they would need to use bright and multiple colors to depict the fun, energy and excitement of childhood.
Your logo is the visual anchor for your customer, and it is essential to make it relevant by adding appropriate font, symbols, texts, and colors.
#3 Unforgettable
Can you ever forget the logos of Windows, BMW or Starbucks? No, right? The designers have made these logos memorable for us, and that should be your next motive.
A key aspect of a successful logo is making the logo memorable. It should instantly register in your customers’ minds and stay there even after a quick glance.
Your aim should be to connect with customers and kindle their interest in the brand. When they are able to recognize and recall your logo, then it becomes instantly memorable.
You must use all the above-mentioned ingredients in the right way to make your logo stay afresh in your customers’ minds.
#4 Remain Timeless
A successful logo is something that remains relevant and fresh in the minds of your customers. Your logo should be timeless and remain effective for years and more.
The first instinct while designing a logo is to use current graphic trends, but it may not be effective always. You might have to redesign them in the future according to the changing scenario.
Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels
For instance, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola’s logos have remained unchanged all these years. These logos were timeless and able to connect with customers irrespective of the timeline.
Timeless logos generally include effective and quality ingredients. It does not focus more on quirky ideas that may easily get outdated. It should be timeless and unique.
#5 Versatile Like Anything
Last but not least, your logo must be versatile. It should be used in different varieties of formats and shapes. A logo that can be used in only one online size is not going to work.
Your logo must be flexible and expose your brand on different platforms. It should be compatible with printing resizing and ideal for different media.
Even your best logo can become useless if it shrinks or becomes illegible while resizing. The key is to keep it simple and save it in different formats.
The Bottom Line
Have you ever tried to shoot without a target? Running a company without a logo and expecting customers to pay attention to your brand is exactly the same way.
You cannot expect your customers to recognize your brand in the cut-throat competition without having a digital identity. Right, when you brainstorm ideas for your business, you need to formulate a logo design that will work amazingly for your brand.
Creating a logo is not a walk in the park. You need to consider some important factors to create an impact. The above mentioned were 5 must-have characteristics of a logo that you should keep in mind.
Veronica Johnson likes reading, writing and exploring through her travel. With her freelance guest writing, she hopes to achieve both her passion and career in online content marketing. She writes on topics like business, advertising and digital marketing.
THE BRAND TRIANGLE: THREE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Written by Maple Dappa
For a triangle to be formed, three straight lines and points must be aligned together in the proper way. It’s the same in branding. There are three core cardinal points that must align for your brand to stand out and last long. They are People, Process, and Perception.
People
This is very crucial to the successful building of a brand because people will have to bring the vision alive. You cannot build a solid brand without the right people, the right welfare and the right leadership.
Who are the people involved with your brand from the management to your employees to your clients and customers?
How does the management relate with employees?
How do they build the team?
Are the employees true believers of the brands?
Will they grow with the brand?
How do you treat your customers?
Does your brand satisfy their needs, cravings and expectation?
Always remember that people are the foundation of every brand.
Process
This involves the following:
• Setting up your organizational structure
• Defining your vision for the brand and having a direction for the brand
• Strategies you employ
• Your brand belief
• How you share your brand story
• Documenting your journey
• Your operational procedures
Perception
In building your brand, you must never make the mistake of leaving the perception of your business to chance. This is because it is very detrimental to your brand. You have to intentionally create and push the right perception of your brand consistently.
Starting from your brand name which should be simple and relatable, to your logo, to your font styles, to your brand colours which should align with what your brand represents, to your marketing materials, stationery, to the kind of adverts you put out, to your graphics, to your website and your pages on social media.
You must use every avenue available to you to influence the right perception for your brand.
Is your brand a luxury brand? Then you should make sure everybody coming in contact with your brand think and feel that way.
Grasping these three essential elements of brand development will most certainly set you on the right course if your goal is to build a profitable, sustainable, and reputable brand.
#DoBusinessBetter
THE WARS: DETERGENT BRANDS
On a daily basis, brands are in a battle for consumers’ pockets. This blog post focuses on the detergent market in Nigeria.
The laundry soap product line in Nigeria has two major categories: hand-wash and machine-wash. Powder detergents and bar detergents form major portions of the hand-wash segment. In the machine-wash segment, powder detergents and liquid detergents are the main types. Of the two categories, powder detergent seems to be more popular and highly patronized by households in Nigeria.
In the late 80s and 90s, OMO detergent (a household name which stands for “Old Mother Owl”) from the stables of Unilever was the king of detergent in the Nigerian market. In those days, the exploits of OMO as the detergent of choice dwarfed the performances of its rivals as it pushed the likes of Elephant, Surf detergent and other small players, into a tight corner.
Its supremacy in the market was such that the television adverts with the promise “Super Blue OMO washes brighter and it shows” became an anthem among children who grew up in the early 90s. Eventually, the arrival of So Klin, sometime in 1996 was the beginning of the fall of the “king”. So Klin came into the market with an innovation; white detergent which was the industry’s first. In addition, its offer as a detergent with a deep-washing function gave Nigerians reasons to switch their loyalty to the new brand.
With So Klin, they did not need to spend extra money to buy bleach for their white laundry, unlike the blue OMO which they suddenly noticed turned their white clothes, blue. Also, the fact that So Klin came in small affordable sachets was a plus to its handful of benefits. Initially, So Klin was more interested in marketing than brand-building, this was the deficiency that was leveraged by Ariel, which was first launched in 1998, to upstage the competition in the detergent market.
Seeing the stiff competition which was about knocking the ‘king’ OMO out of the market, Unilever Nigeria Plc., the manufacturers of OMO were unrelenting in their quest to dominate and hold the ace once again in the detergent market. They added more value to their product offerings, such as attractive fragrances to attract and retain consumers’ interest.
They re-branded, re-packaged, re-designed and reduced the sizes of their product to be more pocket-friendly for their consumers. These were some of the other strategies used by the OMO manufacturers to ensure that they capture more of the market for themselves.
In 2010, Ariel improved on its product with a technology that introduced more enzymes and polymers that remove tough stains in ‘one wash that most detergents can’t remove in two washes,’ which other detergent brands have tried to beat and are still trying. It is also noteworthy that Sunlight, another detergent from Unilever, has also gained market share.
As a growing brand, it is important to know that it is a war out there (the survival of the fittest). A brand that doesn’t grow will be outdated.
Do you wish to stay relevant as a brand?
Send us an email via wecare@mapemond.com
BURGER KING’S SUEZ CANAL AD: PUBLICITY STUNT GONE WRONG?
A couple of weeks ago, precisely on 23rd March 2021, a blockage occurred at the Suez Canal in Egypt when one of the biggest vessels in the world got stuck in the canal. This happened after the ship (Evergreen) was hit by a strong sand storm which made it run into the sidewall of the canal and became non-steerable. This became a major global challenge due to the high number of vessels that use the canal to cut down voyage time.
Seeing this, Burger King as a food brand decided to take advantage of the situation to market their burger. However, it appears the move was not welcome as many commentators found it distasteful and insensitive considering the hardship the situation was causing globally.
Most of the comments reflected the following concerns:“Your burger blocks arteries and veins”
“Burger King, the Artery clogger”
“For a blockade that caused loss of millions of dollars, this is a bad PR by Burger King”
“I get the humour but this makes me wonder what this does to my digestive system”
There were also some comments that reflected a common thought:
“Brilliant ad!”
When trying to leverage an event to promote your brand, pay attention to the nuances and emotions of people, so you can swing a really brilliant copy and advert.
We guess Burger King didn’t mean to disrespect the sensibilities of people but it is a lesson to look beyond ourselves when promoting our brands.
We are not sure if this affects the customer loyalty for the brand, and like it is widely believed that every publicity is good publicity but it is always better when the publicity wins the affection of more consumers. It improves your brand perception, loyalty, and equity.
#DoBusinessBetter
ONE CRITICAL SKILL FOR YOUR BRAND IN 2021!
WE STARTED SOMETHING AMAZING!
Drawing from the lessons of 2020, we decided to start a support community for entrepreneurs and those aspiring to be one sometime soon. It will be a full-blown business community (in the form of an Academy) for those who are seeking to go beyond mere hustle and survival to building sustainable companies and reputable brands.
Many business ideas will be shared.
Statistics and data from various sectors of the Nigerian economy will be shared.
Even foreign networks and opportunities shall be shared.
Hacks and contacts for funding and other access will be shared.
But being a part of this community will not be free. So we can have only committed people on board.
We will learn together without anyone lording it over.
The many questions of members can be answered by different persons, not just one person.
We will have breakout groups according to areas of interest and unique challenges.
There will be an exchange of experiences, resources, and support.
It will be a community for those who want to be inspired and pushed beyond their limits without feeling less of themselves.
There will be hand holding for the weak or inexperienced.
There shall be no talking down or shaming of anyone.
Both the sprinters and crawlers are all welcome on board.
Do you think it is a good idea?
All members will have access to the following:
– An overflow of business tips and insights
– Answers to business questions and challenges
– Access to our resources (ebooks and online courses) at no extra cost
– Discount on our MBA courses in the works
– Access to professionals in various areas (Legal, Accounting/Finance, and many others)
Members of the community will set goals for 2021 and be paired for discipline, focus, and accountability:
– Saving goals
– Investment goals
– Business objectives for the year (You want to attend a global conference or change office or just get the business started? Etc)
– Travel goals
– Self-development goals
– Compliance goals (Your personal tax, company taxes, contract eligibility papers, annual returns, etc)
As we mentioned, it is a full-blown business support community.
Does this interest you?
Do you have someone to sponsor?
Click on REGISTER to enroll.
We can achieve more, one day at a time, with the right community.
We can #DoBusinessBetter
- Published in Branding, Business, Infographics, Marketing, Research, Stories, Strategy, Structure, Team, Technology, Uncategorized, Web Design
BUSINESS INSIGHT: SETTING YOUR REVENUE TARGETS FOR 2021
One major goal that business owners want to achieve is to make more money, it is the key driver for business.
Having a financial goal helps a brand to identify its target market and the right audience to pitch its services and products per time.
#DoBusinessBetter