How to Win Your B2B Customers
If you bake cakes for office birthdays, make uniforms for schools, sell papers and equipment for office use, offer CCTV or internet installation service for office buildings or offer cleaning and ‘messenger’ service to companies, you will agree that a business-to-business (B2B) model is far different from a business that serves individuals (business-to-customers B2C).
In a B2B business, you don’t really need many clients. You just need to focus and retain the clients that are big enough to pay your bills and stay profitable. It requires a different approach than a B2C. This is why you need to firstly define your audience before defining your marketing strategies. The marketing strategy that works for B2B will not work for B2C.
B2B sales cycles are often longer and involve more stakeholders than B2C. Hence, you have to customize your marketing strategies to nurture leads over time and address the needs of different decision-makers.
You have to understand that the marketing strategy that works for a B2C will not work for a B2B. Whether you offer digital or physical products or services, you have to understand how to win your B2B customers, even before your launch.
1. Know Your Target Buyers
Before you launch a B2B, you need to know who your ideal buyers are, what their pain points and needs are, and how they search for information, and know their goals.
Buyer persona is the top priority of every B2B market player. It involves a detailed analysis of the granular details of your customer. along with monitoring the market trends and shifts in choice and preferences.
Being clear on who you are speaking to, what their challenges are, what their interests are, how they like to consume content, where they hang out (LinkedIn, Events, etc.).
Once you are clear on your audience you can craft messages and a strategy to project your brand through a mix of both broad reach like PR and Events.
Creating buyer personas can help you segment your audience and tailor your content to their specific preferences, challenges, and goals. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on data and research.
They include demographic, behavioral, and psychographic details, such as job role, industry, company size, goals, challenges, motivations, and information sources.
Find out where they hang out. Is it a community? Is it social media? Are they on LinkedIn? What are they talking about? How do they digest information?
What content formats work best for them? What challenges do they currently face? What are they passionate about? What trends are going on in their industry?
One of the mistakes that I see more frequently in this first step is building a buyer persona starting from our own assumptions. Guessing the wrong buyer persona could cause more damage than if you don’t have one at all.
You need to craft the ideal buyer profile starting from thorough market research: apart from demographic data, collect their doubts, common problems, used hashtags, vocabulary, and opinions above all. These data will lay the foundations for the next steps and strategy.
2. Create outstanding content
Once you have defined your prospective buyer, you need to create content that addresses their questions, concerns, and interests during the awareness stage. Your content should not be salesy or promotional, but rather informative and helpful.
You should aim to educate your buyers about their problems, the possible solutions, and the benefits of your offer, without mentioning your brand or product directly.
Some examples of content formats that work well during the awareness stage are blog posts, eBooks, white papers, infographics, videos, podcasts, and webinars.
Host engaging sessions with industry experts for insightful learning. Expert Insights and Webinars position your brand as an industry authority.
Teach them, don’t just tell them. It’s about making your solution as relatable as a morning coffee – necessary, impactful, and part of their daily routine. Think less lecture, more lightbulb moments.
That is how you turn potential audiences into anonymous buyers. These are the people that propose your solutions to their teams and cheer your products in the shadows.
There is nothing more authentic or valuable than being able to share thought leadership that presents a unique point of view or perspective about trends in your industry or category.
When you do it through first party data, you stand out as an expert in your category. Thought leadership is a great way to drive awareness of and build your brand.
Awareness stage content has to entertain – or at the very least, intrigue. These people are not actively searching for you or a solution to a problem.
They’re just going about their business. So, if you’re going to get their attention, you have to create entertaining content that hooks them.
Once you’ve got their attention, then you have to nail the follow-through and teach them something new. Doesn’t need to be salesy at this point, but it should make them want to learn more (about either you or the topic).
The saying goes that content is king, but long gone are the days of a person filling out a form to just get an e-book. So, instead of just going for the e-book, show your customer how your service or solution is the pain pill and not just a vitamin. Because when your content shows that you solve a problem, that generates interest.
Also, do not sleep on video as a piece of content because you believe it has to be a high-value production. Truly, a banner with animations can be a valuable piece of content because of how it allows you to use it across multiple channels, such as Facebook and Instagram, which people visit frequently on their phones.
Remember that around 90% of B2B customers are not actually in market for your product at any point in time. Therefore, trying to promote your product during this time is practically pointless.
It is best to develop content that builds trust and authority in your company and brand, so that when your customer is ready to buy, they think of your first.
There are gazillions of “valuable” & “educational” contents being served to your audience every day. Here is a tried and tested winning strategy – tickle the funny bone.
Intelligent humor sets you apart by miles. Everyone wants to be a thought leader in B2B, you’ll win by being a fun and interesting thought leader.
Sometimes, your prospects may even don’t realize that they have a problem (they are problem unaware). In that case, you should educate them on the current situation and the risks they may not see (use market insights, competitors’ examples to make them feel the pain).
Explain the new world coming and the rules they need to master to win the game. They will consider you as the expert subject matter and you will gain their trust.
Avoid sales pitches and calls to action that ask too much of your audience at this stage. Your only CTA right now should be “Learn More” or similar.
Explain why your product is the best, how it can be used, how its different than your competitors, and include real life client testimonials. If someone posts about a problem, reply with a solution.
3. Optimize your content for SEO
SEO optimization is vital in ensuring your content reaches the right audience. This involves thorough keyword research to understand what potential buyers are searching for and integrating these keywords naturally into high-quality content.
To reach your buyers during the awareness stage, you need to make sure your content is visible and accessible to them. This means optimizing your content for search engines, so that it can rank higher for the keywords and phrases that your buyers use to search for information.
SEO involves several factors, such as keyword research, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, images, links, and content quality. By following SEO best practices, you can increase your organic traffic, visibility, and authority.
Start with the problem rather than a keyword. Write for your audience first, then go back and check your SEO content grade.
Writing for SEO first tends to remove the human voice from your content and may have the opposite effect you are hoping for. Prioritize SEO optimization when you are sure of “what content is working”.
Effective SEO boosts your organic traffic and positions you as an authority, making your content a go-to resource for your target buyers. True SEO is about more than just keywords; it’s about making our content genuinely useful and relevant to our audience.
4. Distribute your content across multiple channels
Content distribution is as important as creation. Another way to reach your buyers during the pre-launch stage is to distribute your content across multiple channels, such as social media, email, paid ads, and influencers.
By using different channels, you can expand your reach, generate more leads, and build trust and credibility. However, you need to choose the channels that are most relevant and effective for your audience and your goals.
You also need to adapt your content to each channel, using the appropriate tone, format, and message. Leverage LinkedIn to showcase your expertise in articles.
Recognize that your B2B audience doesn’t uniformly inhabit all platforms. Rather than hopping from one platform to another, pinpoint the platforms where your target audience is most active.
Precision is key—avoid duplicating content across platforms. Instead, distribute content in alignment with a carefully crafted SEO strategy.
However, with 60 percent of the world’s population on social media we must acknowledge that not all will be on the same platform at once. Or even the same platform at all.
We all know individuals that refuse to use TikTok, but consume content on Instagram or Youtube. Or vice versa, those that only like long form content on Youtube, but have no short form even downloaded at all. So by not leveraging all audiences you are just leaving money on the table.
“For B2B Marketers, LinkedIn is likely the only social media channel you need the most.” This is not true.
Although professionally, many people are indeed on LinkedIn, they have lives outside of LinkedIn where they spend their time, such as Instagram, Facebook, and X. Thus, one of the smartest strategies we can deploy is to distribute the content across channels.
Omnipresence helps. It used to take 7 interactions for someone to trust you. Now, it feels more like 42. So, the more visible you are [where your clients see you], the better.
Remarketing can be a powerful tool for reaching B2B buyers who have already engaged with your content. By using targeted ads, you can remind them of your solutions and expertise, keeping your brand top of mind as they move through the awareness stage of their buying journey.
Always put reader experience first. If you are distributing content across different platforms you need consider what the user’s experience is as well.
For instance: When you make a post with a carousel on Linkedin, make the first sentence eye-catching because a reader will have to click “see more” in order to sell the rest of the post. That’s why the hook is important. On Twitter it’s different because you’re making threads.
If you have a thread post make sure you put 1/(# of posts in thread) so when the hook catches someone it gives them a good idea of how much they will have to read.
5. Measure and improve your results
Measurement is tomorrow’s strategy. Ensure you measure monthly and quarterly what is working and what is not working so you can optimize your marketing strategies with that knowledge and data going forward.
You need to measure and improve your results to ensure that your content is reaching and engaging your buyers during the awareness stage.
You can use various metrics and tools to track and analyze your content performance, such as traffic, views, shares, downloads, leads, conversions, and feedback.
By monitoring and evaluating your results, you can identify what works and what doesn’t, and make adjustments to improve your content strategy and reach more buyers.
Do not be afraid to fail and try something different even if the results are ok at the moment. Do not just copy and paste whatever brought the best results. Definitely improve what works, but do not stop there.
Measurability in marketing is crucial. By setting clear goals and employing valid measurement methods, businesses can discern whether their actions are effective. Without these metrics, there’s no foundation for informed decisions and optimizations.
Measurable objectives provide essential insights, allowing evaluation of ROI and serving as a navigation tool. They enable efficient resource allocation and continuous strategy enhancement. In short, measurability is the key to marketing efficacy.
6. Strategic Networking, and Leveraging of Stakeholder Communities
Most B2B thrive on networking and content marketing that positions you as an expert. Networking provide a faster route to reach decision makers. B2B sales often entail bureaucratic processes to close, and as such, reaching the key decision makers, and building relationships formally and informally can speed up processes.
Also, at the awareness stage, companies can leverage program-led approach to have the presence of potential stakeholders. Create events (industry or sectorial) that would be interesting to them, and bring them over… it would be easier for them to become leads after they’ve experienced.
B2B marketing often involves building long-term relationships. Invest in customer service, account management, and post-sale support to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.
7. Branding matters
Deconstructing the right brand building approach for your company starts with a user journey needs analysis, which should form part of any successful marketing strategy.
So, before you do anything else, make sure you understand what it is that makes a good digital campaign that aligns with your brand’s objectives. List down everything down from the activities involved to the reporting and analytics.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant
How To Enjoy Life And Stay Rich
Some time ago, I sewed a pair of trousers for ₦6,000 and a friend of mine said I wasted money. He said, “I should have bought second-hand trousers for half that price.” I did not beg any money from him to sew the trousers, and neither did I owe the tailor. So, why wouldn’t he mind his business and stop being unnecessarily angry? To him, it was not a smart financial decision to sew new trousers when I could afford them.
My first flight ever was fully paid for. It was from Abuja to Lagos and it lasted for about 60 minutes. When some people heard the cost of my flight ticket, they suggested that I could have travelled by road (about 10 hours) for one-third of that flight fee and saved that money for something else. To them, travelling by air on fully paid expenses was not a wise financial decision. I marvelled.
Many broke people on the internet today are the ‘best advisers’ on how others should spend their money. A popular YouTuber showed her apartment in New York City (NYC is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world) where she pays a rent of $7,000 per month.
Her couch is worth $8,000. Her apartment doubles as her creative space where she makes her money. For her to be able to afford this, it means her monthly earning is significant enough. The various hate comments in that video showed how poverty has traumatized the minds of many people.
A netizen audaciously said she lacked financial literacy. Ugh! The man who is struggling to eat three square meal thinks that the person who can afford a ₦10,000 movie ticket lacks financial discipline.
You only live once! You aren’t taking a penny with you to your grave when you die. So, why not spend it on something you can afford and give yourself a good life? Sometimes, you have to switch off that calculator in your head and enjoy your life. Sometimes, poverty can be disguised as financial prudence.
When poverty has colonized the brain, a hardworking man who earns well may find it difficult to give himself a treat and enjoy the goodies of life with his money. He may constrain himself from eating the fruits of his labour.
Saving money is good. Investing money is better. Enjoying the journey is the best. Life is short. It’s time to shift from just working hard to pay bills and start living more. Every month, you split your income to pay others and forget to pay yourself. That’s enough!
It’s time to set some money aside for enjoyment and do things or go to places that make you happy. With the life expectancy rate that keeps reducing yearly, nowadays, being alive is a special occasion. As long as you can afford it, every day should be Christmas.
Growing up with a poor widowed mother, I learnt how to manage money from a standpoint of scarcity. My mind was programmed to manage money, rather than enjoy money. It came from a place of lack, not a place of abundance. This mindset became so strong in me that even as I grew older and I was working hard to increase my income, I still found it difficult to enjoy my hard-earned money. Rather than enjoy my money wisely, I was managing money and denying myself comfort and pleasure because I wanted to be prudent.
Even when I earned returns from my investment, I was still stingy with myself. Poverty conditioned my mind too much that I saw spending on fun activities as “wasting money.” Whenever I saw rich people going for vacation and balling, I thought they were wasting money and may be broke soon. Interestingly, they were getting richer. It means I was wrong in my thinking.
Why do you have to pay a photographer for a birthday photoshoot? Why not give that give that money to charity? Why buy a brand new car when you can get a cheap and good fairly used car? Why not use that money you want to spend on Summer Vacation in Maldives to invest in properties? Why spend so much on assorted foods and wines? Why buy shoes, and accessories that are expensive? Why live in an estate when you can also live comfortably in a modest boy’s quarters apartment? Why pay to use the gym when you can trek from one street to another? Why have two meats on your plate of food?
Genuine options from a flawed mindset! I was more scared of going broke than I was conscious of managing money. I lacked the basic financial knowledge of balancing management and enjoyment.
Kai! Poverty is a bastard. It is an invisible force that holds your mind captive. Whenever I see rich people riding expensive cars, the calculator that poverty has installed in my brain begins to estimate various supposed alternatives on behalf of these rich people. If I did not break through from this poverty mindset quickly, I may end up like that starving man who had breakfast set before him but refused to eat.
He chose to stay hungry throughout the day and kept the food till dinner. Before dinner came, death took him away. Sadly, he missed breakfast and never lived to eat dinner.
With your current financial state, is it possible to escape generational poverty? Are you always financially stranded? Do you create a budget and stick to it? Do you save at least 10 percent of your income regularly? How long can you stay without borrowing money?
Do you have financial goals or you are just saving money aimlessly? How do you intend to build wealth from your 9-5 salary? If a pandemic like Covid-19 hits again, how long can you survive without your monthly income? When you see a rich person, what comes to your mind? Whatever you think, you still wish you were rich also. Interestingly, you too can be rich.
Building wealth is hard. Sustaining wealth is harder. Selling your services, products and skills will keep your bank account busy, but financial prudence will keep it buoyant. Value attracts money, but financial education keeps the money.
Financial literacy will boost your chances of building wealth regardless of how much you earn. Behind a wealthy person, is sound financial intelligence and excellent money management. To envy the lifestyle of the rich and yet not take one single step to earn that lifestyle for yourself will not make your life better.
To be jealous of those who reached what you aim for, without stopping for a second to think about the knowledge and mind shift they possess is foolishness.
If you desire to stay financially healthy without any fear after your retirement, I wrote this book (ENJOY LIFE, STAY RICH) for you. Whether you are single, married (with or without kids), divorced, widowed or a single parent, the financial advice in this book will correct your past money mistakes and set you again on the right path.
The earlier you begin to implement these proven strategies, the better for you. It does not matter your current financial state, slowly and steadily, you too can join the league of rich kids and soft life.
Make no mistake. You can manage money and still enjoy your life. The purpose of this book is not to teach you how to suffer or to be stingy towards yourself. No! Life should be enjoyed with wisdom. Life should be spent in pleasure, not in pressure. Enjoy life and stay rich. That’s the goal.
Getting rich is just one part of your problems. The biggest part of your problem is how to stay rich when you get there. In this world, a lot of people have made money and lost it at one point or the other. No matter how big a ship is, it takes a small leak to sink the ship.
Financial mistakes can hurt life. False beliefs and bad habits can halt your financial progress. Debts can rob you of your dignity and peace of mind.
This book is the mirror of your reality and your desired state. Step by step, I will hold your hands and lead you through the path. If you are already making an effort towards financial freedom, don’t get drunk on the excitement of yesterday’s success, there is so much to learn in this marathon journey of financial freedom.
This book is written to teach you how to enjoy your hard-earned money wisely, rather than managing your money. It is possible to have all the good things of life without going broke again, without being in debt and without being in fear. You deserve a soft life too.
If you continue to work like an elephant and live like an ant all because you want to manage money, you may end up in a frustrated life. It is still possible to enjoy every day of your life and still hit your financial goals. This is what you will learn in this book.
To live a happy life, you need time and energy. In this book, you will also learn how to manage your time and energy. This book is the conversation you need to have with yourself daily to improve your financial state.
I have helped thousands of people to transform their financial life and get out of debt. There are testimonials to show for it. This is not to brag. I have shared these secrets in this masterpiece. I have made this book so comprehensive and easy to read. No big grammar. No technical jargon.
No school will ever teach you what this book will reveal to you! Sit down and see for yourself! Are you ready? Let’s dive in.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant
Once A Millionaire Is Not Always A Millionaire
Why do broke people continue to hate the rich for living a good life? Why do poor people try to make rich people feel bad for acquiring what they can afford?
Why do broke people often feel the urge to dictate to those who work hard to earn their money how to spend it?
If a rich man teaches a poor man what it takes to be rich, he will prefer to remain poor. If all the wealthy people in the world donate all their earnings to the poor, within a decade, many of the beneficiaries will be back in poverty.
Once a millionaire is not always a millionaire. It is easier to take a man from poverty, but it is hard to take poverty away from a man. It takes continuous financial education to unlock the poverty from his mind.
The person who says, “How I spend my money is nobody’s business. Let me enjoy today; tomorrow will take care of itself” is as uneducated as the one who says, “If only I can make more money, I will never be broke again.”
If this sounds like you, you are the roadblock to your financial freedom. Financial ignorance is the termite drilling holes in your pockets, not your village people. More money will not solve the problem caused by poor management.
Death does not come with a siren. You cannot wait till you have all the money you desire before you decide to be happy.
This masterpiece in your hand will guide and show you proven ways to block every financial leak that is sinking your life.
Let me show you how to enjoy life without financial pressure and be debt-free even when the economy is tough. In this book (ENJOY LIFE, STAY RICH), I will teach you why the rich gets richer and the foolish gets poorer.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant
Branding Lessons From Sabinus New Hairstyle
Sabinus has been known with dreadlocks. He changed to low-cut hairstyle recently. What’s his new plan? Rebranding? Is he tired of the hairstyle and wants to look more like a ‘responsible’ young man? Is it because of the cost of maintaining dreadlocks? Definitely not. He is not called an investor for nothing.
Comfort of a fresh look? Could it be that he is trying to attract a new audience? Maybe some hair infections like dandruff. Maybe he had a job that required a low-cut look.
He started with the low-cut hairstyle. Could it be that he has gone back to it? Whatever it may be, one thing that is constant in life is change!
The fact remains that Sabinus has built enough influence in the industry that he is now recognized with or without his haircut.
The hair was never the signature but the blue clothes. When you become a solid brand, you can diversify. The quality of the product is in the content not the container.
Rebranding is part of the game; you recreate yourself so that your audience don’t get bored. That’s what Teju Babyface did. From a hosting a Live Show to hosting a Podcast.
When building a personal brand, you need to be sensitive and align with change of seasons in your life. I guess Sabinus wanted an identity that he can grow into old age with. It is still early to build a brand around that haircut. I see people building personal brands around hairstyles that cannot grow into old age with them.
Ayo Balogun did not want to be called “WizKID” at age 50, so he tweaked his name to “Big Wiz.” Obi will not always be a boy.
Build your brand around a vision. Rebranding means retracing your steps when you miss it. The number one vision of Sabinus has always been to create comedy skits that will appeal to all classes of people.
For the average Nigerian, dreadlock is attached to waywardness. Many parents will not allow their kids watch Sabinus skits because of his ‘wayward’ appearance. This new low-cut hairstyle may be a move to be a ‘good’ role model to the Nigerian children who watch his skits.
Trademark is NOT ENOUGH to protect your brand from copycats. There is a striking resemblance between Sabinus and with Mr Cultivator. This low-cut hairstyle may be a move to distinguish from his lookalike. When a brand becomes successful, others will want to imitate.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.
How To Waste Money Executing A Great Idea
Two different clients reached out to me about the same business idea. After thorough studies, I advised them to dead the idea. I just found out that exactly the same idea has been executed by another person.
It was launched recently. I studied the model and I laughed. Good money wasted. AN APP THAT CONNECTS YOU TO THE NEAREST ARTISAN
The product did not address the main challenges I warned my clients about. The SECURITY of the users.
Even Uber and Bolt are still battling with security of riders and drivers on their platform. Not to talk of allowing a stranger into my house to do my plumbing works.
How do you ONBOARD an uneducated artisan to a digital app? Even the educated ones cannot sign up to an app? There is also the challenge of CULTURAL acceptance of the idea. Why would I be looking for an electrician online when I can easily get on my street on based on referrals?
I’m a very optimistic person. But with my knowledge of business and experience consulting for MSMEs, I can predict the success and failure of any business idea. I wish them all the best.
When you execute a great idea that is not good for your market, you put money in the waste bin.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.
How To Give Your Customers Orgasm
Give a woman orgasm, she’ll crave for more. That is what my tailor – ADETOMIWA (TomiJ Couture on Instagram) has been doing for me over 7 years now.
What is orgasm? SATISFACTION. What is orgasm? Value for the money they pay.
There are three shops built closer to my apartment;
- The first shop sells their bottle of coke ₦50 more than what others are selling in the street.
- The second woman sells groundnuts that are bad.
- The third shop do not collect transfer payment and do not always have change when paid.
Despite being in a good location, many people in the street walk past their shops to purchase their stuffs from other shops.
Customers are rational. They know what they want. It is your duty to give them what they want. If you cannot give them what they want, you cannot have their money.
The only thing a customer want is ORGASM (SATISFACTION). Rather than make necessary adjustments, these women gossip angrily against people who don’t patronize them.
You don’t force people to patronize your business. The choice of whom to patronize is their fundamental human rights. You attract customers to patronize you by giving them ‘ORGASM’.
If your competitor can give your customers ‘orgasm’, you will soon be kicked out of business.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.
Brand Ambassador Vs Influencer: Understanding And Knowing Which Is Better For Your Business
Brand Ambassador: He is already a passionate fan sharing enthusiastic testimonials about your product.
Influencer: He is highly knowledgeable in a particular niche and gives expert recommendation and advice.
Brand Ambassador: He is committed to long-term partnership.
Influencer: He is committed to short term partnerships.
Brand Ambassador: Little or no compensation (because he is already a fan of your product).
Influencer: Compensation is required (because it is his full-time job).
Brand Ambassador: He is not a professional content creator.
Influencer: He is a professional content creator that knows how to beat algorithm to get his content seen.
Brand Ambassador: He can be anybody that uses and likes a product (but not your employee).
Influencer: He is usually a celebrity or superstar that endorses a product.
Brand Ambassador: He does not necessarily have a large social following but he should have an engaging audience.
Influencer: He must have a large following and massive audience engagement.
Choose a Brand Ambassador;
If you are on budget
If you prefer a deep familiarity with your product
If you want a passionate partner to always talk about your business.
Choose an Influencer.
If you are targeting a specific niche
If you want to boost exposure to new audiences
If you are looking to produce shareable content on social media.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.
You Can Choose A Fruit As Your Brand Name
Orange – telecommunication
Kiwi – shoe polish
Chery – Car automobile
Tangerine – Pension and Insurance
Pineapple – Insurtech
Mangotech – Information Technology
Apple – Tech Devices
Okra – Fintech
Papaya – Clothing
Banana Republic – Clothing and accessories
Weird names. Random names. Existing names.This is the new trend.
Tweaking your brand name around an existing name is a smart idea. Names are just names until humans give them meaning.
When next you want to choose a weird or random brand name, ensure you cloth it with relevant meanings.
And you are good to go.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.
Do This First, Before You Increase Your Price
Generally, customers are very sensitive to any price increase, even for justifiable reasons. What do you do when the economy is tough? Reduce your quality or increase your price?
What then should you do?
- Offer a 3-in-1 value or complimentary products at an affordable price.
During a fuel price increase in Nigeria, bus drivers and taxi drivers don’t rush to increase prices. They firstly start to carry an extra passenger in each seat row. And remove the booth of the bus to put an extra seat there to carry extra passengers. These extra passengers make up for the price increase in fuel.
Sachetization thrives in a market dominated by low-income earners. Cowbell started this strategy. Blue Band and Power Oil are doing this too.
Nescafe started 3-in-1 in sachets. Milk, Sugar and Coffee. Cadbury Bournvita followed suit.
Milk, Sugar and Chocolate. Ovaltine joined. Milk, Sugar and Chocolate. Milo and Peak too have joined. Even Quaker Oats too has started selling 3-in-1. Oats + Milk + Sugar. MTN reduced the gigabyte mobile data, increased price and still increase the tariff sneakily. They deduct more internet data from customers without making noise about it.
The 3-in-1 strategy is a step further from sachetization. It only shows how poorer the market has become. The purchasing power has been reduced more. When you reduce your quality, you will lose customers too. When you increase your price too early, you will lose customers too.
It works! This will help you to balance the mixture, retain quality and maintain the same price.
2. Reduce the quantity slightly and silently.
Have you observed that noodles are not as much as they used to be? Burger and cheeseballs remove one piece for every increase in cost.
Biscuit companies do a noiseless reduction too. Companies that produce matches silently remove some matchsticks.
Some bread companies remove one or two slices for every increase in cost. Spaghetti companies do this too. They don’t issue a public release for this at all.
It works! Customers do not always or immediately notice this noiseless reduction in quantity. Dear business owners, calm down to think creatively whenever your competitors are hurrying to increase their prices.
It is possible to gain more customers and make more sales when you are doing things differently from your competitors.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.
Sell With Empathy: Customers Are Delicate Assets
I won’t stop talking and bragging about my tailor. Not because he is the best. But because he understands the business side of his craft. But before that, this is me saying a big thank you to one Doctor (I can’t remember his name any longer) who saved my life in 2018.
I was moving in and out of the hospital for 3 months. I did all manner of medical tests. Yet, no exact diagnosis. The various doctors I met at various times kept loading me with drugs.
They wouldn’t even allow me explain finish before tearing a prescription sheet for me. I was getting weaker everyday. On this lucky day, I visited the hospital again. The doctor who attended to me was shocked. My case file booklet was almost filled to the brim. He saw the dates. He was patient enough to listen to me. He could feel my suffering.
He told me that he wanted to personally handle my case. And I should not allow any other doctor attend to me. Long story cut short, from a doctor-patient relationship, it became a father-son relationship. He didn’t give me more drugs or ask me to do more tests.
He only gave me health recovery tips and health lifestyles to adopt. That was how I got back on my feet soundly. Was he the best doctor in that hospital? No! What made the difference? EMPATHY.
I visited my tailor one day. He saw that I was tired and immediately bought a bottle of coke for me to refresh. During Covid-19, my tailor gifted me a customized nose mask which he made. In 2023, I got opportunity to visit Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja. In those six times, all I experienced at Transcorp Hilton Abuja was EMPATHY.
From the security guards to the cleaners and gardeners. The cashier over the counter and the restaurant attendants showed EMPATHY. No wonder, Trnascorp is always full. Empathy entails active listening. Empathy entails courteous response. Empathy entails prompt action.
Marketing will get you your first customer, but empathy will keep them coming again and again. If you cannot retain your customers by selling with empathy, your business will shut down eventually. Customers are delicate assets. Handle them with care.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant.