YOUR ASSOCIATIONS MATTER.
Inspiration for you this August.
George Foreman is a legend in every sense of the word in the world of boxing. His records and history are so enormous that we don’t even know which one to write and which one to leave out. Let’s just give a summary we found on Wikipedia.
“Foreman is the oldest living world heavyweight boxing champion in history, and the second-oldest in any weight class after Bernard Hopkins (at light heavyweight). Foreman retired in 1997 at the age of 48, with a final record of 76 wins (68 knockouts) and five losses.”
Foreman at some point had health concerns related to his weight, so he opted for a lifestyle of healthy eating that yielded results for his weight loss aspirations. When he first returned from retirement before the final retirement, he posited that his victories were due to his new lifestyle of healthy eating.
It was about that time that Salton Inc. approached him to be the pitchman for their fat-reducing grill. As of 2009, the grill which was named ‘George Foreman Grill’ had sold over 100 million units.
Salton paid him $138 million in 1999, for the right to use his name. Prior to that, he was paid about 40% of the profits on each grill sold (earning him $4.5 million a month in payouts at its peak), so he has made an estimated total of over $200 million from the endorsement, substantially more than he earned as a boxer.
One of the most critical elements of branding is association; with the right associations, your brand (whether personal or business brand) will attain greater results. Whether you stand in the place of Foreman or Salton, you need the right associations to accomplish more.
You may not be a celebrity like Foreman and you may not even be interested in brand endorsements, but the point is beyond all of that. The point is that at your place of work, in your career or business aspirations, on social media, and life generally, look out for the right people and organizations and align with them.
May you succeed.
Mapemond Academy Team.
THE HAIR COURT. A JOB WELL DONE!
From when the idea was conceived, we were engaged to work with the owner in birthing this lovely brand. Covid-19 and lockdown obstructed the process a great deal, but the baby is born now in the city of Port Harcourt.
The salon received over 40 new customers (excluding personal friends and relatives of the owner) within the first two weeks, our marketing and sales strategies worked!
Here is a quick rundown of our work with this brand:
1. Brand strategy development
2. Marketing strategy development and implementation
3. Recruitment of stylists, technicians, and front desk staff.
4. Training of all members of staff
5. Setup of social media pages
6. Management of social media pages
7. Running of targeted social media adverts
8. Creation of free e-book for promo
9. General business support and advisory
The clients are already falling in love with the brand, but the journey just began. Branding is one thing, brand management is another.
We loved the client’s open-mindedness, nothing is as important as giving your business the right foundation.
We don’t do mere branding, we ensure that branding coincides perfectly with business model and strategy.
It has been an exciting project and it is another job well done!
Let’s work on your brand and position it better for the market.
SAME TOOLS, DIFFERENT SKILLS.
Letters from our Captain.
My Wife deals in jewelry and needed me to help her fix one of the silver neckpieces, three rings holding parts of the piece together had expanded and caused the piece to separate into two pieces.
So I went to an area in town where I fix my wristwatches to see if they could help me fix the rings to hold the pieces back into one. I had initially tried to fix it myself but the tools I have at home weren’t suitable for such work. In fact, it was in my attempt to fix just one ring originally that two more pulled out, so I had to humbly seek help.
When I got to the first wristwatch repairer, he started working on it before mentioning that I will pay him NGN400, I offered NGN200, he agreed and continued. After 20minutes of struggling, he returned it to me that he couldn’t fix it, he recommended that I meet a blacksmith (he meant a goldsmith).
Anyway, I thought to try a second wristwatch guy who helped me reduce my wristwatch chain some time ago. He looked at the piece of jewelry and told me to go see a blacksmith (again, he meant a goldsmith), I was happy he didn’t try to waste my time.
I left for another area of town where goldsmiths are clustered. A young man seated in front of the very first shop I got to beckoned on me, I heeded and met his Boss.
As we sat, he started working on it. In one minute, the first ring was in. In another minute, the second ring was fixed. And then within the next 3mins, the third and last ring was in place. Jewelry piece back together, perfectly!
And I reflected, both groups of workmen had exactly the same tools, but the skills set differed. I wanted to pay the wristwatch guy NGN200, but I paid the goldsmith NGN1000. The first wristwatch guy apparently wanted to try his luck, but the second refused to waste his time on what he didn’t have the skill for.
A lesson I picked was to focus on your skill, hone it very well, it will bring money and also announce you to the market.
What’s your skill?
Are you becoming a master at it?
If you want to earn higher consistently, keep improving your skill level.
You are valued according to your skill level.
Mister Maple.
THE ONE SKILL THAT IS DELAYING YOUR DREAMS.
We had a meeting with someone recently who has a brilliant idea. She has figured out most of what needs to be in place to execute the idea, but there was a giant wall in front of her – how to get the clients. We spoke with her to provide guidance but we gleaned some insights to share with you in your career or business journey.
Ideas and dreams are exciting.
Doing the groundwork could be fun.
Until it is time to sell yourself, product, or service, cold feet will show up.
Selling is not a skill for entrepreneurs only, it is a skill for everyone.
When you go to the visa office, it is a moment to sell yourself.
When you write application letters, you are selling yourself.
When you sit before a panel at a job interview, you are selling yourself.
When you share thoughts on social media, you are selling yourself.
Selling is a must-have skill for you.
Your dreams won’t come true if you don’t confront the challenge of selling.
Making two million bucks monthly is easy to calculate on paper until it is time to make the numbers a reality.
Confront the challenge of selling.
Selling is the bridge that leads to the land of milk and honey.
Find a way to kill that fear and sell.
Overcome that hesitation and sell.
Change your thinking about selling, you can learn and do it well.
The most successful people in the world are not necessarily those who are the best at what they do, but those who sold themselves better.
How badly do you desire success?
How badly do you desire to see your dreams come true?
Summon courage from within and confront the challenge of selling.
There are various options available to aid you – books, courses, seminars, coaching, mentoring, internship, and so on. Only you can make the move, so you can achieve better results.
What you desire for your career or business is waiting for you across the river called SALES (SELL YOURSELF).
We wish you success!
STOP LOSING CUSTOMERS UNKNOWINGLY.
Mr. Williams was lost in thoughts as he sat down at the wedding with the event brochure in his hands. He was impressed by the quality of the design, print, and everything. The brochure was for a one-day event, yet was of such top-notch quality. He left the wedding with a resolve to trash his company brochures and marketing materials and do them all over.
There is a message for you from Mr. Williams’ experience.
Take the outlook of your brand more seriously. From your flyer and brochure designs to every other thing that prospects and customers come in contact with.
When it gets to the point of bringing out money to make payment for products or services, customers tend to have some sort of resistance and doubts.
They suddenly want to take a closer look at your website, social media pages, and everything related to your business, their fears are legit, they don’t want to make the wrong buying decision.
At such moments, your branding speaks on your behalf, through your marketing communications and channel outlook, it appeals to their senses, exudes a sense of trustworthiness and likeability.
Get your branding and marketing communications right and stop losing clients without knowing it.
If you need a professional touch, talk to us!
#DoBusinessBetter
SAILING THROUGH CRISIS [Free E-Book]
Whether you think the Covid19 situation is political or you believe the virus exists and the stats are valid, one thing we all have to agree on is that the crisis caused by the pandemic has affected everyone one way or the other.
There are so many lessons to take away from the Covid19 experience and one of them is the need for leaders at both the organizational and personal level to be better equipped in facing and getting through times of crisis, beyond Covid19. We are all bound to face crises in the course of work, business, or personal life, even without a general crisis situation.
How should leaders respond in a time of crisis?
How should organizations respond?
How should individuals respond?
In this mini-book that will take you a maximum of ten minutes to read, we have shared quick insights on how you can better manage the situation caused by Covid19 in your business, work, or personal life and also to equip you on dealing with crisis generally. It is written primarily for business owners but is recommended for career people, professionals, and individuals generally.
The book draws insights from the fall of a little boy in a Nigerian Island called Bakana, and other stories that will interest you. You shall glean insights on situational analysis, emotional intelligence, crisis management, crisis communication, resource management, and more.
As leadership is being tested on all fronts across the world, we hope that you will be among those to emerge stronger and more focused post-Covid19 and onward.
Click DOWNLOAD THE BOOK to get your copy now.
IF YOU MISSED ANY OF OUR OTHER BOOKS OR WOULD LIKE TO CHECK OUT OUR DEEPLY INSIGHTFUL SHORT COURSES ON BUSINESS, CAREER, AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, VISIT MAPEMOND ACADEMY
#DoBusinessBetter
Thinking Business ideas [eBook]
Building an awesome brand begins with an idea, this book shares perspectives on thinking through business ideas. It is a twelve minutes read of stories and quick insights. We hope you will enjoy reading it. We would love to get your feedback. Kindly share with those who need it.
You can get it via DOWNLOAD HERE
IN OTHER NEWS
Get your team smarter through our short courses on sales, marketing, proposal writing, and more at really low prices. Visit MAPEMOND ACADEMY
BRAND REVIEW: MARLEY AND BLUE, A NEW COFFEE STORY
The new song on the lips of most coffee lovers in Port Harcourt is “Marley and Blue”. The brand recently announced its opening this August with photos and videos of the space shared on their social media platforms – Twitter and Instagram specifically. So far, it has been a cool rhythm mixed with smoothly served cups of coffee.
Marley and Blue presents itself as a brand out to improve the quality of coffee sold in the city. From its well-structured appearance and classy feel, it can be perceived that the brand came with all its instruments to give customers the best coffee experience. There is no doubt that it is intentionally creating an image of quality and reliability in the minds of its customers. It also introduced an identity for its coffee that is called ‘joe’.
The brand was founded by Ese Emerhi who was driven by her love for coffee and her desire to create a quiet space for people to hang out during the day. She explained this in an interview with #StartupPortHarcourt.
“I relocated back to Nigeria in 2014, and as a coffee lover, I noticed that in Port Harcourt at least at that time, there were no spaces or collaborative spaces, coffee shops in particular, that people could come to spend the afternoon or a Sunday morning in a quiet conducive space, so I decided to create a space where I would be comfortable in here in Port Harcourt”.
In the interview, she also shared the vision for Marley and Blue. In her words;
“The vision for Marley and Blue is really to be that hub, that glue for creatives, artiste, the tech start-up community here in Port Harcourt to be able to gather, collaborate and spark ideas that really move the world together or to change the world…”
The brand sure did have such a great start and is already making a statement in Port Harcourt. Though we do not know what the future holds for this brand, one thing is for sure, we will definitely be looking out to see if it sustains its music!
Let us get your feedback in the comment section if you have had a feel of Marley and Blue…
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
Need help structuring your brand? We are here to help! Send us an email at wecare@mapemond.com
Do Business Better!
BUSINESS INSIGHT: GOKADA’S SHUTDOWN, WHAT FAHIM HAD TO SAY.
Problems are ever-present in the world and every entrepreneur must be brave enough to face them in their businesses and take total responsibility when they come. In fact, problems are the most predominant element that makes up a business because enterprises are created to either solve a new problem or tackle an existing one.
In every organization, there are two types of problems – external and internal – that needs to be constantly addressed in order to keep work going smoothly. It is often easier to look out for external problems and neglect the internal ones, which can cause more harm to the establishment. We were reminded of this due to the recent temporal shut down of Nigeria’s pioneer motorbike hailing service, Gokada.
The rather abrupt decision taken by the CEO, Fahim Saleh, was because of an inefficiency he observed when he used the Gokada service. He was forced to halt the company’s services after the series of frustration he experienced while he was on board. In his narrative on Medium, he highlighted the different hiccups the services had.
“A little over a week ago I had taken a Gokada hoping to avoid traffic to get to the mainland bridge from VI,” he began.
He stated that his request for a pilot through the Gokada app was delayed,
“I opened the Gokada app, requested, got a pilot, and waited patiently for him to arrive. I called to confirm my location which the pilot said he knew. Five minutes passed by and the pilot had not moved. Another five minutes passed and the pilot was going in the wrong direction. After fifteen minutes and three phone calls, the pilot finally arrived at which point I’m thinking it might have been faster to take a car all the way through.”
After the pilot’s late arrival, Fahim had more disappointments rolling in. He was particularly displeased with the pilot’s incompetency, which was totally against the mission of the brand.
“Upon questioning the pilot, I learned that he didn’t use GPS on his phone because the earplugs he had were broken. Irritated, I motioned him to get started with the ride as I was in a hurry. It should be pretty obvious how to get to the mainland bridge from VI, so I didn’t concern myself with providing him directions but I knew from Google Maps using the best route, it should only take 10 –15 minutes. After about 15 minutes, we were still on the road. I hastily took out my phone and did a quick input of the directions to the bridge and realized we were still 15 minutes away. This pilot had taken a long route to get to the bridge, one that would have been completely avoided had he used the map. I motioned that I would direct him based on the Google Maps navigation. Unfortunately, just as we were about to reach the bridge I directed the pilot to a wrong turn which would have required us to turn all the way around. At this point, it was obvious that a car would have been much faster even with all the traffic. How could I be the CEO of Gokada, the company that pioneered motorcycle ride-hailing in Nigeria and be saying this? I was disappointed in Gokada but most of all, I was disappointed in myself,” he lamented.
General opinion regards the action as rather too drastic and risky considering the stiff competition in business. Fahim believes that it was the only way to tackle such a situation else, it grows worse and unmanageable. “Big problems require big solutions,” he said.
On the other hand, some analysts suggest that the shutdown of Gokada is not unconnected to the bullish strategies of ORide by Opay a Startup powered by Opera. We shall be observing to see how things play out and if Gokada will indeed bounce back better and stronger.
Big problems require big solutions
Fahim mentioned that the downtime would be used to restructure the company and train the drivers. He assured customers that the new version Gokada 2.O would be better than their previous experience,
“We can only win by doing right to our customers and our pilots. That is why today I am excited to announce our Gokada 2.0 initiative…we firmly believe that when you want to get somewhere fast, safe, and hassle-free — there won’t be any other app you’d want to open other than Gokada.”
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
You do not have to wait for your business to experience downtime to restructure it. Let us help you while it is still early! Send us an email at wecare@mapemond.com
Do Business Better!
THE SUCCESS STORY OF BOLE FESTIVAL ’19
On the 3rd of August 2019, the city of Port Harcourt was smoking hot with fumes from roasted plantain and fish engulfing the atmosphere, dust raised by thousands of people, and beats of different types of music blaring from speakers. The fuss and the standstill traffic were evidence that Bole Festival 2019 had taken over the town.
It baffled a lot of persons that a single event organized by just one brand had the ability to pull such crowd and literally turned the very quiet Obi Wali center to a beehive. The crowd was a mix of regular fun-loving individuals, on-air personalities (OAPs), and press agents from different media houses were present to capture every moment of the event.
But then the main VIPs of the festival were the wide range of vendors who made their products and services available to spectators and buyers. The highlight, however, were the entertainers invited to light up the event. It is safe to say that the event would have been nothing without the blend of people present that day.
Away from the jamboree, now let’s look deeper to see why Bole Festival was a huge success. Everyone who has ever tried to plan a project or host an event would certainly agree that it is not an easy feat! No matter how small that project or event, it requires a hundred percent brainstorming, planning, and organization to have an excellent execution. It was evident that the Bole Festival was well planned which is why we think the team deserved some applause. So here are a few things we observed;
Good Social Media Strategy: For a brand seeking to attract hundreds of people from around Nigeria and outside the country, it must leverage the power of social media. Being its fourth edition in the business of hosting the event, the Bole Festival crew made good use of their social media platforms to spread the word about the event. In the social media campaign, they focused on the fun facts about the festival while they watered the appetite of potential attendees with promises they couldn’t resist. We dare say the crew kept their promises. They also made good use of hashtags which flowed with their theme for this year, Our Taste, Our Culture, which resonated with the people.
Easy Payment: One thing customers dread is going through too much hassle to pay for a product or service. And their fear of online payment is endless! So including the option of online payment is sometimes a risk that only brave brands opt for. Yet the Festival’s crew was able to make the payment process, especially the online option, seamless. With just a few clicks on an internet-connected mobile phone, most attendees were able to purchase their tickets which was immediately sent to their emails. Several outlets in strategic places for the buying of tickets were utilized as well.
Partnership: Getting partners that believe and support a brand to the fullest is usually one of the toughest parts for most brands. However, Bole Festival has been able to break that limiting factor as it had quite a lot of sponsors and partners. Well, one thing is for sure, the brand must have proven itself worthy enough for partnership. Remember the first thought on every partner’s mind is “what’s in it for me?”
Variety: Though the main event is centered on bole, it was refreshing to have other options displayed by different vendors. This also presents the Bole Festival as an umbrella that houses and supports different types of brands especially SMEs. It speaks a lot about Bole Festival’s core values.
You can see more photos and videos at BOLE FESTIVAL
So, there you go! Those are our observations, but we would love to hear yours. Tell us what you think about Bole Festival in the comment section.
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
Want to learn more about brand strategy? Then attend our branding Bootcamp this August. See details at BRANDING BOOTCAMP
Do Business Better!