Business Archives - EM Consulting

By:Emma Macharia
8th October 2018
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/meltwater-em-consulting.jpeg 950 350 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 8th October 2018 8th October 2018

Why Every Business Needs PR While They Grow

Michelle Garrett

Whether or not you do it yourself, use a consultant, an agency, or have an in-house PR pro, every business stage needs public relations. Since businesses need to interact with the public, government, their competition, partners, and clients (whether that is other businesses or the public), managing relationships and perceived business value are essential.

While PR is experiencing a bit of a renaissance as the value of earned media and backlinks seems to be at the top of many brands’ list of digital marketing initiatives, there are still those companies who seem to feel they won’t benefit from public relations.

The truth is, companies at EVERY stage can benefit from PR.

Every business needs PR, even companies at the top of their game shouldn’t overlook the value of what public relations brings to their brands.

Why PR Is Beneficial to ANY Brand

As ways to get the word out about your product or service increase with the proliferation of social media and consumers’ access to information, public relations still leads the pack. Why?

“PR, unlike paid marketing, creates a different dynamic,” says Peter Himler, founding principal, Flatiron Communications and president of the Publicity Club of New York

Earned media coverage, as third-party validation, still has the greatest capacity to generate action.”

Why? “Positive news stories, amplified in social media, can serve as powerful endorsements and a boost to brand reputation,” Himler says. “Unfortunately, the reverse also holds true. Think of poor Papa John.”

And because the news cycle moves so quickly now, Himler says it’s vital that businesses persist—in good times or in bad—in engaging editorial decision-makers to maintain a positive branded footprint in the media.

Brands at Different Stages Benefit in Different Ways

Companies at various stages, such as those growing, struggling or succeeding, can all take advantage of what public relations helps them achieve.

Growing Brands

Early and mid-stage companies need visibility. They benefit from media exposure and brand recognition. Well-timed articles can help boost efforts to launch new products or roll out solutions.

“Early on, PR creates crucial awareness for your company. A new business is like that tree in the forest that falls down with no one around it. If no one is talking about your business, does it even exist?” Jesse Ghiorzi, director of brand strategy at Charge

Working with a PR firm can also help early-stage brands define messages that resonate with their target audiences. Public relations pros are skilled at helping clients position themselves for success.

Yet another benefit of PR can be drawing talent to a brand. If a company is growing, it needs to hire strong employees. If it appears in publications and on social media in a favorable light, it’s more likely to be compelling to potential new hires. Further, it can help retain employees who may take pride in seeing the name of the company they work for in lights.

Struggling Brands

For companies that are struggling, a PR pro can help uncover stories they can tell that will bring them more visibility.

“If your business is struggling, you might be cutting back on marketing and ad budgets. The right PR tactics can help you stretch that marketing budget by getting your business covered in key publications at a fraction of the cost compared to a paid placement,” says Ghiorzi.

And, if a brand has spent time in the past building a following, it can leverage that audience to help support it during tougher times.

Successful Brands

Brands with momentum may believe they have no need for PR. Quite the contrary, says Himler.

“Many esteemed brands with large followings on social media may have less of a need for traditional PR, i.e., media relations. They simply announce their news via their ‘owned’ channels and it propagates from there.”

Himler continues, “However, most companies—big and small—do not enjoy the same luxury as an Apple or Google or Amazon. They must engage the beat reporters who follow their industry, or company awareness and esteem can deteriorate. Then, they may just end up in the trash heap of brands that have lost their luster.”

“When the going is good, why not start telling your story to your audience? Because there will come a time when the economy is not so good, and you need customers to know who you are,” says Brad Marley, consultant, and owner of Yelram Media

“When that happens, it’s not as if a brand can snap its fingers and generate momentum. if you’re waiting until the bust to invest in PR to generate publicity, you’ve waited too long.”

Every business needs PR, no matter their size or age.

Source: https://now.mw/2zZEdlh

By:Emma Macharia
27th October 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/cause-marketing.jpg 960 640 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 27th October 2017 27th October 2017

How Cause Marketing Can Boost Your Brand

image courtesy of Shutterstock

With the last quarter of the year upon us, companies are pulling out all the stops to achieve a winning 2017. For retailers and brands, the stakes are especially high, as the holiday season can make or break the entire financial year.

By:Emma Macharia
19th September 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/business-collaboration.jpg 800 400 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 19th September 2017 19th September 2017

Collaboration and Cooperatives for business development

Image coutesy: redbooth.com

REPOST: We have avenues for business growth and development if we collaborate and cooperate. The answer for growth and development lies in working together (the Kenyan Harambee spirit).

By:Emma Macharia
13th April 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/emma-macharia-759x500.jpg 759 500 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 13th April 2017 13th April 2017

EMMA MACHARIA: INVEST IN DATA AND ANALYTICS FROM THE BEGINNING

Emma Macharia, CEO, EM Consulting

Emma Macharia is a communications consultant at EM Consulting, a communications firm based in Nairobi, Kenya. EM Consulting is dedicated to helping start-ups and SME’s grow and scale by effecting impact based marketing and communication strategies and tactics.Passionate about life, people, and business, Emma loves insightful conversations and turning ideas into successful business stories. Emma shared with SLA her thoughts on the Kenyan start-up ecosystem and her tips on effective marketing for start-ups.

What are your thoughts on the Kenyan start-up ecosystem? How does your company fit into it?

Kenya’s startup ecosystem, in my opinion, is at maturity level. By this, I mean that we are slowing moving from the hype of entrepreneurship and now starting to look at the sustainability of businesses. We are evolving from collaborations into partnerships and similarly from churning just new products and services to products and services that are customer focused and scalable.

EM Consulting fits into this system simply because it exists for one agenda only which is to help such businesses scale through effective communication with all their stakeholders; suppliers, customers, shareholders and so on. We help your business speak one language to get everyone growing and moving in the same direction.

How easy (or difficult) was it for you to step up EM Consulting in Kenya? How did you overcome any challenges?

Setting up EM Consulting in Kenya was not too difficult because of continuously improved business facilities and regulations that make the process of setting up a business more flexible. Similarly, the relevant government institutions have begun opening up to entrepreneurs and taking a more active role in the entrepreneurship space in Kenya.

However, building a communications firm in Kenya was quite a challenge due to the cut-throat nature of the industry. For this, I ensured I built my business on values that would withstand the industry such as innovation. Also, I ensured to surround myself with people of different skills sets and expertise to help me create a solid and well-planned business. Some of these experts include financial experts, tax consultants, brand strategists and technology experts.

I ensured to surround myself with people with the expertise to help me create a solid business CLICK TO TWEET

What do startups get wrong when it comes to marketing?

When it comes to marketing within a startup, it is very easy to initially place the customer in the back seat of the business. Between figuring out your financials, to perfecting the product and pleasing investors; customers tend to take a back seat in the scheme of things. This is where I feel startups get it wrong. If startups and founders mastered two key things then their solutions would be irrefutable. These are; the problem around the solution they are working on and the value proposition of their solution to their customer.

If there is one thing I would advise all startups to have on the back of their hand it is their customer; to do this, collect insights, and invest in data and analytics from the beginning.

How can start-ups leverage their brand to achieve business goals?

Your brand is your credibility, so to this, I say build a brand that attracts your customer to your business. Communicate correctly and efficiently; figure out the one message you want your customers and stakeholders to pick from you and communicate it efficiently. Also, invest in a marketing plan to reap well from your brand.

How do you hope to inspire current and future entrepreneurs? How can they get it right?

Through the training service of EM Consulting, I speak to and train businesses and entrepreneurs on the value and leverage of the customer in building a business. Through these training sessions, I am able to share insights and trends about different kinds of consumers and audiences in different industries hoping to spark new ideas and innovations amongst entrepreneurs.

How to get it right? Learn from and listen to your customer. There are a lot of benefits to focusing your business on the ‘consumer;’ it helps with forecasting the numbers, it helps you anticipate future trends and therefore innovate accordingly, it helps you build a business beyond yourself.

Figure out the message you want your customers/stakeholders to pick from you & communicate it CLICK TO TWEET

What’s your major challenge as a startup that caters to other startups?

My major challenge as a startup working with startups and growing businesses would have to be money and buy in. I have learnt that the reason a lot of businesses are failing at communications and marketing is because they do not budget for it like any other business function.

Secondly, a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners overlook the role of effective communication on their bottom line. This is why I decide to include training and business consulting in my range of services to listen to my clients immediate and long-term business needs, and show them how effective communications will help them get there.

What communication trends have you noticed as more impactful for African businesses?

I personally think Africans are by nature early adopters of technology among other solutions and that is why platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Uber, and even LinkedIn thrive in our markets. However, in the last few months is when I’ve seen African businesses applying these technologies to their context and markets.

A great example is how service industries use WhatsApp or Telegram to build niche communities with their customers and share more personalized content or using Facebook communities to educate customers and build customer lists. Other communication trends include getting in touch with Generation Z consumers who are more focused on purpose and changing the world forcing businesses to relook their social impact as well as sharing more authentic communication to reach them.

Source: https://sheleadsafrica.org/emma-macharia/

By:Emma Macharia
11th March 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/virgin-imag-2_-EM-Consulting.jpg 600 423 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 11th March 2017 11th March 2017

How to build a knock-out brand

By Richard Branson

There are so many important decisions to make when starting out in business – where to base your company, whom to hire, and very importantly how to brand your product or service. Wanting to give entrepreneurs a leg up, not just in financing, but also to help make these decisions easier, we launched Virgin StartUp in England and Scotland in 2013.

Believing that every successful business leader should give back, and that business doesn’t have to be a game where some win and others lose, I like to drop in on our mentoring sessions from time to time. Which is exactly what I did, when Virgin StartUp recently ran a masterclass about how to build a knock-out brand. Watch the video below to see what happened when I made a surprise visit to talk with some of our promising entrepreneurs.

Coming up with a good name is the first curial step in creating a knock-out brand. In my experience, there are four important things to consider when deciding on a name. One: Know your audience – there’s no point in naming your business something that doesn’t appeal to the type of people you want to attract. Two: Keep it simple – Virgin wasn’t self-explanatory, but it was strikingly simple, so much so that the word has become synonymous with the brand. Three: Make sure it has legs – if you hope to grow your business into other industries then it’s important to come up with a name that can be used far and wide. Four: Have fun – by naming our brand Virgin we challenged the status quo and had a hell of a lot of fun doing it… and wow, did it serve us well for generating publicity!

The ability to create a stir is what sets highly successful brands apart from the rest. To get your brand out there, you need to present your business differently than your competition does. My mentor – Sir Freddie Laker, the owner of Laker Airways – gave me this advice in Virgin’s early days, and it eventually defined our marketing strategy, helping to make Virgin internationally famous. When we launched Virgin Atlantic, we were entering an industry rife with big players. “Make sure you appear on the front page and not the back pages,” Sir Freddie told me. “You are going to have to get out there and sell yourself. Make a fool of yourself — whatever it takes. Otherwise you won’t survive.” We’ve been doing incredibly outlandish things over the years and gone places other companies would never dream to venture. And it’s served us well; writing our unique but encompassing story, which people feel part of.

As well as storytelling, another great way to create a brand that resonates is to make sure your business truly makes a difference, and benefits others. Being purpose driven will align your brand better with your customers, and give you a competitive edge that knocks out the competition.

In a nutshell, my three fundamental tips for creating a knockout brand are to: focus on you business name, tell great stories that help people associate to your brand values, and make purpose part of your plan from the very beginning.

Source: https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/how-build-knock-out-brand

By:Emma Macharia
11th March 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Burger-Relish-Accra.jpeg 1000 666 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 11th March 2017 11th March 2017

How this Accra Restaurant Uses WhatsApp Marketing to Keep 6,000 Customers Coming Back

By Emmanuel Quartey

Burger & Relish is a popular American diner-style restaurant with two locations in Accra, Ghana — one in Osu (a commercial district), and another in East Legon (a quiet, upscale neighborhood).

In this exclusive article, Sean Burrowes, General Manager of Burger & Relish’s East Legon location, takes us deep into how his restaurant uses WhatsApp to keep his customers coming back.

Think of WhatsApp as a customer service channel for your best clients, not a mass advertising medium

WhatsApp is undeniably one of the most dominant forms of communication in the emerging world, and Accra is no different. Everyone uses WhatsApp — it transcends age, gender, and socio-economic status.

Because WhatsApp is so pervasive, marketers have been quick to attempt to use it to push their wares, but Burrowes recommends that a better approach is to think of the app as a direct line to your best existing customers.

“I think people are a bit fatigued with receiving marketing messages via WhatsApp,” says Burrowes. “A year or so ago, few companies were sending WhatsApp messages, but a lot businesses are doing so now, most of them badly, with the result that you’re starting to see less engagement.”

A more effective WhatsApp strategy, Sean suggests, is to think of WhatsApp as a direct line to your best, most engaged existing customers.

“When I send out a WhatsApp broadcast, I often get replies back. Sometimes they want to know if a certain dish is still on a menu, and this is a great opportunity to educate about our offerings and even upsell them on new ones. Other times, they want to flag an important issue they were uncomfortable mentioning in person, and that becomes an opportunity to address a customer service issue and improve our operations. We’ve found WhatsApp to be great as a customer support tool.”

To get people to opt-in to receiving WhatsApp messages, tap into their FOMO (fear of missing out)

Across both restaurant locations, Burger & Relish has nearly 6000 people signed up to receive WhatsApp messages — about 4000 phone number for their Osu location collected over 2 years, and about 1,500 phone numbers for their East Legon restaurant, collected in about 4 months.

To acquire these phone numbers, Sean and his team first get a sense of whether the guest is clearly enjoying themselves. If so, they mention events that’ll be happening at the restaurant throughout the week, and ask if the guest would like to receive a reminder about future events via WhatsApp.

“We have multiple events at Burger & Relish during the week, so we use that as a hook to pique people’s interest. I train my waitstaff to collect numbers, but there’s only a light script, otherwise the delivery will be too robotic. Each team member is invited to bring their own style to it.”

Waitstaff are held accountable for growing the restaurant’s WhatsApp phone number database.

“Each waiter has a sheet where they list the numbers they’ve collected that day, and I make sure to review it so that my team knows that this is something that is important, and that’s a core part of their responsibility.”

Segment your WhatsApp Broadcast Lists

At the end of each day, the new numbers collected by the team is entered into WhatsApp Broadcast Lists on a company phone.

These lists are very intentionally organized.

“What most other companies do is that they just dump numbers into lists. What we do at Burger & Relish is that we add their number to a variety of named segments. For example, a guest who came with kids will get added to the Families Lists, young adults and college folks get added to Student Lists, etc. This helps us tailor messages to specific target groups in a way ensures that the message resonates.”

Create a distinct brand voice and tone

Every company has a personality that reflects their target audience, and Sean recommends ensuring that the WhatsApp messages are similarly on-brand.

“There’s actually a difference between how the two Burger & Relish restaurants talk to their respective WhatsApp lists. Our Osu location is very popular with expats, whereas most of our clientele in East Legon is a Ghanaian audience that usually comes to our restaurant to celebrate a specific event. This definitely influences my tone when messaging our East Legon customers, all the way down to the kinds of pop-culture references I make.”

The timing of messages is important

Sean recommends thinking carefully about when your target audience is most likely available to engage with your message.

“I send out messages at one of three times during the day: around 7 AM (so that it’s one of the first things people see when they wake up), around noon (so they see it during their lunch break), or somewhere between 5 to 7 PM (when people are deciding where to go eat out). I find that messages sent during times when people are likely to be busy result in fewer responses.”

Train your audience to respond

Businesses get the greatest return on investment when customers think of WhatsApp as a two-way communication channel. To get them there, it’s important to “train” them to respond to messages.

“Occasionally, I’ll do a small giveaway (eg. a free soft drink with any purchase) where people need to reply via WhatsApp to qualify for the deal. I find that this is a great way of getting people to reply for the first time, and after that, they start to think of the Burger & Relish WhatsApp not as mass advertiser, but a direct customer service line to their friends at the restaurant.”

Source: https://theflint.io/how-this-accra-restaurant-uses-whatsapp-marketing-to-keep-6-000-customers-coming-back-9e475a23e574#.fmaut54zx

By:Emma Macharia
11th March 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/thinking-strategically_-EM-Consulting.jpg 450 300 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 11th March 2017 11th March 2017

4 Ways to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills

By Nina Bowman

If you’ve ever received feedback that you “need to be more strategic,” you know how frustrating it can feel. To add insult to injury, the feedback rarely comes with any concrete guidance on what to do about it. One of my coaching clients, Lisa, a vice president of HR, was in this situation and explains, “I was just told to think bigger picture and to be more strategic. It felt like I had been given the definition of a word by using the same word. It just wasn’t helpful.”

So what specific steps can you take to be more strategic in your current role?

Start by changing your mindset. If you believe that strategic thinking is only for senior executives, think again. It can, and must, happen at every level of the organization; it’s one of those unwritten parts of all job descriptions. Ignore this fact and you risk getting passed over for a promotion, or having your budget cut because your department’s strategic contribution is unclear.

Once you’ve accepted that it’s part of your job, focus on developing four key abilities that demonstrate your strategic prowess.

Know: Observe and Seek Trends

Lisa wasn’t seeing the big picture. Because of the amount of work she had and the pace at which she needed to get it done, she often took a “heads down” approach to her job and failed to “lift up” and observe both internal and external trends. She was missing key information that could help her focus, prioritize, and be proactive in addressing talent issues for her fast-growing company. Because Lisa approached her job in a transactional manner, simply getting the next hire, she didn’t recognize that she needed a completely new approach to recruitment and retention.

In order to be strategic, you need a solid understanding of the industry context, trends, and business drivers. An intellectual appreciation of the importance of bringing in current data and seeking trends isn’t enough. You also have to:

Make it a routine exercise to explore and synthesize the internal trends in your day-to-day work. For example, pay attention to the issues that get raised over and over in your organization and synthesize the common obstacles your colleagues face.
Be proactive about connecting with peers both in your organization and in your industry to understand their observations of the marketplace. Then, share your findings across your network.
Understand the unique information and perspective that your function provides and define its impact on the corporate level strategy.

Think: Ask the Tough Questions

With a fresh understanding of trends and issues, you can practice using strategic thinking by asking yourself, “How do I broaden what I consider?” Questions are the language of strategy. Lisa came to appreciate that her life and prior experience gave her a unique, yet myopic, strategic lens. So she pushed herself to ramp up her perspective-taking and inquiry skills. By becoming more curious, and looking at information from different points of view, she was able to reduce her myopia and see different possibilities, different approaches, and different potential outcomes.

For example, when working on an employee retention project she asked herself, “What does success look like in Year 1?” “What does it look like in Year 3?” “What could impact the outcome in a negative way?” “What are the early signs of success/failure?” “What do business partners need to understand to ensure its success?” and “Do the outcomes support the broader goals of the organization?” By asking these tough questions first, she recognized that she could better engage with colleagues and senior executives early on in ways that would benefit the project — and would help shape the perception that she was thoughtful and strategic.

Speak: Sound Strategic

Strategic thinkers also know how to speak the language. They prioritize and sequence their thoughts. They structure their verbal and written communication in a way that helps their audience focus on their core message. They challenge the status quo and get people talking about underlying assumptions. Those that are really skilled walk people through the process of identifying issues, shaping common understanding, and framing strategic choices.

If this sounds complex, that’s because it is. But there are ways you can start honing these skills:

Add more structure to your written and verbal communication. Group and logically order your main points, and keep things as succinct as possible.
Prime your audience by giving them a heads up on the overarching topics you want to address so they are prepared to engage in a higher level conversation, not just the tactical details.
Practice giving the answer first, instead of building up to your main point.

Lisa didn’t realize that the way she spoke created the perception that she was not strategic. She set about changing that. First by focusing her one-on-ones with her CHRO on higher level discussions and leaving tactical issues to email. She chose one or two strategic areas to focus on. and made sure to frame issues in the context of the CHRO’s and the CEO’s top priorities.

Act: Make Time for Thinking and Embrace Conflict

In the early phase of our work together, Lisa kept a jam-packed schedule, running from meeting to meeting. She found it difficult to contribute strategically without the time to reflect on the issues and to ponder options. Recognizing that she was not bringing her full value to the table, she started to evaluate her tasks based on urgency and importance as outlined in Stephen Covey’s 2 x 2 matrix. She stopped going to meetings she didn’t need to be at. She blocked out thinking time on her calendar and honored it, just as she would for other meetings. And she fought back the initial guilt of “Am I doing real work when I’m just sitting at my desk thinking?”

Lisa also practiced other key skills. She learned to embrace debate and to invite challenge, without letting it get personal so that she could ask tough questions. To do this, she focused on issues, not people, and used neutral peers to challenge her thinking. To manage the inevitable ambiguity that arises when you ask more questions, Lisa also learned to clarify her decision-making criteria, allowing her to better act in the face of imperfect information.

The quest to build your strategic skills can be uncomfortable. At first, you might feel like you’re kicking up sand in the ocean. Your vision will be blurred as you manage through the unsettling feelings that come with challenging your own assumptions and gaining comfort with conflict and curiosity. Once the dust settles, however, and you’re able to contribute at a higher level, you’ll be glad you took the risk.

Source: https://hbr.org/2016/12/4-ways-to-improve-your-strategic-thinking-skills

By:Emma Macharia
11th March 2017
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https://emconsulting.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ecommerce-image_-EM-Consulting.jpg 294 171 Emma Macharia Emma Macharia https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5c49e09810a73396a22ec613b4183212?s=96&d=mm&r=g 11th March 2017 11th March 2017

THE NIGERIAN ECOMMERCE STORE WHERE EVERYTHING SELLS BELOW $9

By Ehidiamhen Okpamen

Ecommerce has become an integral part of the retail fabric in today’s society. However, the hysteria that greeted its rapid rise not only in Africa, but in Nigeria, has to a large extent cooled off. Household brands like Jumia, Konga, Dealdey and Hotels.ng continue to mirror the significant gains from the upsurge and the progress made over the past couple of years. Issues like trust and technological limitations have also made it difficult for many startups to make significant inroads into a sector, deemed to be climaxing in terms of opportunities offered to new entrants.

But some new entrants aren’t bound by this narrative, and are uncovering opportunities with lucrative potential. 2K Market is one of those.

Launched in January, the online retail store has cornered a niche for itself and is so far proving extremely lucrative. By offering largely household products under the price of N3000 ($9), it is managing to capture an attractive number of cost-driven online shoppers who prioritize cost whenever making shopping decisions.

In this interview, the founders of 2K Market, Kelechi Nwaozuzu and Emeka share more on the inspiration behind the brand and why they believe it will blossom into a household name.

Your motivation for being an entrepreneur

There are a million and one reasons why people become entrepreneurs. To provide a solution, to help people, to bridge existing gaps. When we decided to start 2kmarket.com, it was because we felt challenged to help create a platform for people whom we felt have great potentials but were not recognised for the lack of a platform. Being entrepreneurs put us in a better position to channel our vision of helping people live comfortably without breaking the bank. We are taking full control of the platform we have designed to impact positively on the lives of people.

Were you always certain the entrepreneurial life was for you?

Kelechi: For me, I always knew there was so much more to life than running a 9 to 5. I never pictured myself doing that for a long time. I always wanted to be my own boss but I knew that it would not be easy to attain but I was and still am willing to follow on with that dream however long it takes.

Emeka: Not really. As a child, I had dreams of having a white collar job. I envisioned myself working in an organization with an ideal environment and a mouth-watering salary. But that mindset changed later. For one, there are thousands of graduates that are unemployed, so there was no guarantee that I would get my dream job after graduation and NYSC. Secondly, I saw a need in Nigeria’s Ecommerce space, one which its solution will better the lives of many. So, rather than focus on white collar jobs, I started thinking about problem solving.

What is the story behind the 2k Market brand name?

We wanted a unique name, one that that will perfectly describe who we are and what we do. We are an online market where buyers shop for products that are only two thousand nine hundred and ninety nine naira(2999Naira) and below. Hence the name 2kMarket.

What kind of products are you focused on, and why?

When the idea of 2kMarket was birthed, we planned on having products that cut across as many sectors as possible. For now the products available on 2kmarket are products whose price range fit into the scope of our market and majority of them are household items as we are looking to meet the immediate needs of Nigerians. Since our launch on the 15th of January, we have had several people and companies reach out to us and we’re working to ensure that in the near future, we will expand our site to accommodate products that cut across many more sectors in order to meet the needs of many more people.

You seem to have launched right in the thick of Nigeria’s current economic crisis. Did this in anyway influence the brand strategy in terms of retailing largely low-cost products?

Our major goal like we mentioned earlier was/is to solve a problem, in this case the high cost of quality products especially in this period of recession. We had planned our launch much earlier but due to some unforeseen circumstances, it had to be postponed. As a matter of fact, we think it is pure coincidence that the economic situation makes our market even more appealing. We are sure many people find it comforting to still get high quality products at an affordable price especially in this period of economic crises.

If managing a business during an economic crisis is usually a struggle, then starting out should feel like hell. Has this been the case for 2k Market?

Every business faces several challenges but what distinguishes a business that is able to survive and thrive is consistency, hard work and commitment. In all sincerity, It has not been rosy at all. There are a plethora of challenges and obstacles that we have faced starting up 2kMarket. It was challenging from the onset getting sellers to trust our platform. It was a challenge deciding on the right quality of products to put up on the site. It was also a bit difficult getting some sellers to adjust their prices to fit our market price. Managing the business as a whole and keeping it running has been a herculean task. It takes a lot to gain the trust of Nigerians, to create brand awareness, as well as to get people to actually shop on 2kMarket. All of these cost time, hard work and money. All three we’re willing to give.

Currently, what would you consider your greatest daily challenge(s) in managing 2k Market?

It is quite difficult to single out one challenge as being the greatest daily challenge. Each day poses a new challenge, which most times we successfully overcome. There are challenges with processing some orders, delivery of some orders, creating awareness, building trust and managing our social media pages. For now, we could say one challenge we are hoping to overcome soon is getting word out there to millions of Nigerians that there exists a budget-friendly, pocket-friendly online store with high quality products.

What measures do you put in place from a strategic point to address these challenges?
We make it a point of duty to learn from every new experience and to ensure that in all, we satisfy our customers. For the issue of processing orders, we try to make the process as seamless as possible for both the sellers and the buyers by working with a host of competent and efficient courier service providers. We’re currently working on creating a system where we can easily process an order swiftly. The good news is that so far, we have not failed to meet the expectations or needs of any of our customers and we hope to continue to maintain such good records. As for the awareness, we’re utilising our social media pages to the best of our ability.

The ecommerce wave that stormed Nigeria, and Africa as whole, just a few years ago seem to have cooled off. Do you think this is accurate and if so what can you attribute this to?

We are of the opinion that Nigerians are slow to embrace change sometimes and when there is no more “thrill”, are also quick to let go of it. The ecommerce wave hit Nigeria real big, but due to many repeated bad experiences, people are losing faith in online shopping. Also the economic recession is not helping matters. Things are getting much more expensive to buy, so shopping online is not much of a priority for some. The fact that there has been a calm is definitely not accurate and we hope to be able to help create that excitement and excellent customer service once more.

How is 2k Market strategically positioning itself to push beyond the limits of the sector?

Like every organization that means business, 2kMarket has big plans for the near future. We are looking at expanding our business and reaching our full potential. We have plans to house many more products from many sectors of the economy (especially agriculture), we have plans of partnering with so many companies and individuals. We hope to bring them on to our platform with our carefully mapped out strategies. We are also looking to expand beyond the Nigerian borders but as we earlier highlighted, these are feats that will not happen in one day but we’re willing to and are already working towards achieving them.

What key trends do you expect to see in the ecommerce sector in the coming years?

Each day, technology all over the world is expanding and newer concepts are emerging. We anticipate that once again, the ecommerce wave will hit Nigeria and this time with much more force that will have lasting effects. Many Nigerians will embrace this and fully utilize all that the sector has to offer. Many other ecommerce sites will emerge and try to win the hearts of Nigerians. It will take something special to be a major player then and we are gearing up for this. We expect to see the reintroduction of trade by barter ecommerce style too.

What do you think the coming years hold in store for this brand?
The future of 2kMarket is a very bright one. In just two months of existence we have achieved quite a lot and we hope to achieve many more great things. We have chosen not to rest on our oars and we foresee 2kMarket being a widely recognized brand in Nigeria, Africa and hopefully, the world. We will win the hearts of Nigerians and constantly exceed expectations by offering at all times the Ultimate Customer Experience.

Source: http://thenerveafrica.com/10746/nigerian-ecommerce-store-everything-sells-9/

By:Emma Macharia
10th March 2017
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5 Key Strategies to Successfully Pivot Your Startup

CREDIT: Getty Images

By Springboard Enterprises

Eloise Bune, founder and CEO at Handwriting.io, shares her insights on ways to lead a company through a transitional period.

At Handwriting.io, we have been selling an API product into the B2B market for eighteen months. However, we kept seeing early on that companies were often strapped for engineering resources, and integrating an API that helps marketing departments scale handwritten communications continually fell to the bottom of the priority list. Then, eighteen months in, an interesting thing happened -we noticed companies and individuals were looking to send digital communications in their own handwriting style – not just handwritten notes sent in the mail.

It’s important to remember that the startup you first set out to build will not resemble the company you are operating five or ten years later. Startups, and businesses in general, evolve and take on a life of their own. I have learned it is so important to keep your finger on the pulse of the current market, what customers are saying and how your team is functioning. You’ll need to address questions like–how is the product performing in the market? Is the product easy or hard to sell? What kind of value does the product provide in the current climate? Is it generating revenue or not?

If you are asking yourself these questions and the metrics [and your gut] are telling you that something is off, you’ll need to move quickly to better understand the unique challenges of your business and pivot appropriately. These are five key strategies to successfully pivot the startup to maximize the chances of success.

Encourage Employees to Develop New Solutions

Listen to your employees, embrace the incarnation of new ideas, and allow them to build products on the side. You may not initially recognize the long-term benefits these exercises may have for the company, but they can also turn into the inspiration for a needed business pivot. It also instills an innovative approach within the company that will drive employees to develop tremendous solutions. The side projects empower workers to envision technologies that they feel are vital to the company and can spark the next company breakthrough.

Build a Basic Prototype Before Pivoting

If you are thinking of pivoting, build a very basic prototype and see if people use it, see value in it, and provide candid feedback. We built a prototype texting app (now called ScribbleChat) using all of our patented handwriting technology and received valuable feedback from investors, friends, family and even some of our API customers. Feedback in the early stages of development is vital to determine where the product will have the greatest impact. The conversations around the first prototype may even reveal new ways to enhance the product. The prototype will enable you to determine early on whether the product is the best fit for the company.

Make Sure You are Iterating All the Time

If the sales cycle is too long for the product in your particular category, something may need to change – people, process and/or product. Analyze all aspect of the sales discussion, as a minor shift in how the product is positioned can make a drastic difference in your bottom line. Effective communication around the company can drive a startup to success. Make sure you are iterating all the time to ensure your product is in demand and provides more immediate value to your target prospects.

Don’t be Afraid of Change

Changing the positioning of the company may seem scary, but it’s also where the magic often happens. Making an adjustment can better improve the company’s position in the long-term future, even if the current change was minimal. Be sure to calculate the risk against the reward before making a decision that will impact the startups future. It’s always important to think about not just how much your product may be used, but also its potential uses – and that may realize some unforeseen potential for your business.

Keep your Investors Informed

Make sure your investors are kept in the loop. If you think the company strategy is going to change, start planting that seed with your team, board of directors and shareholders at least three to six months ahead of time, so there are no surprises. A drastic change without careful deliberations with your investors can seriously strain the relationship and make the pivot seem insurmountable, especially if there is resistance. When it comes to raising funds for a new product, you will need their full support to move forward with your revolutionary idea.

As a founder of a startup, it can be extremely difficult to separate yourself and your business from your original idea – the idea that may embody your passion and hard work for years, but may just not be working. Therefore, you need to accept the realization that even the best ideas require evolution, adjustment, and pivoting to enable the business to move in a happier and healthier direction.

Source: http://www.inc.com/springboard/5-key-strategies-to-successfully-pivot-your-startup.html

By:Emma Macharia
10th March 2017
0

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How to Scale a Business: 4 Growth Tips from Actual Experience

CREDIT: Getty Images

By Jason Albanese | Co-founder and CEO

All young businesses are defined by an insatiable desire for growth. But there’s a right way and wrong way when it comes to scaling up.

The most dominant companies to emerge from the past decade’s tech boom have proven that healthy growth is all about scaling. By adopting a scalable business model, these firms have generated huge profits without all the budgetary strains that plague traditional growth models.

A replicable system for delivering goods and services allows businesses to increase their customer base without having to increase their overhead at the same pace. By contrast, the traditional growth model has fostered a vicious cycle of inefficiency–a company gains a few new clients, so they hire more people to service those clients, adding costs at nearly the same rate that they’re adding revenue.

Scalable growth is all about pairing exponential revenue growth with incrementally increasing costs. Software companies offer a strong example: once the development stage is complete, they can infinitely replicate their end product and sell to the customer at little or no additional cost to the business.

In short, the more efficient the mechanism for mass production, the more scalable your company will be.

1) Be Proactive, Not Reactive

A business leader’s desire or need to scale a business shouldn’t be entirely based on demand for their product or service. Yes, demand will certainly play a large role in how or when a business decides to scale, but having a competent growth strategy in place from the get-go means that scalability was baked into the company’s business plan long before your customer base really started expanding.

When it comes to scale, an outstanding entrepreneur would think:

I don’t want a lifestyle business–I want a business that has a product or service that’s replicable and could run itself at a very large scale without me being there. And whether there is currently high demand for what I’m selling today versus next week or next year, I need to structure this business in a way that’s highly systematic and not overly dependent on any particular individuals.

Scaling effectively means anticipating demand, not reacting to it. If a company acquires two or three new clients and then realizes it can’t fulfill their demands, their scaling efforts are likely too little and too late.

2) Strengthen Your Foundation

Nothing makes scaling more manageable than a simplified business model. By consistently offering a limited, familiar set of commodities to their customers from the onset, companies can deliver those products or services more effectively, allowing for stable, controlled growth.

Another key component of successful scaling is to ensure that goods and services are delivered systemically. If someone goes to McDonald’s to order a cheeseburger, they can expect an almost identical experience from any McDonald’s, anywhere on the planet. This is a major achievement in scale–keep in mind that Ray Kroc conceived of his assembly line-inspired production system long before there was enough demand to warrant 35,000 restaurants. Kroc exacted the process down to the most minor specifications, including fat content, weight, diameter, and even the number of pickles in every Big Mac.

By emphasizing a universal experience and product consistency at the onset, Kroc was able to strengthen customer loyalty to the brand as he gradually expanded his business. Ultimately, the goal was to encourage and even ensure repeat business based on his system’s reputation, rather than the quality of a single store or person. It was this simple yet infinitely scalable model that allowed the chain to grow into the global behemoth it is today.

3) It’s Okay to Be a Cog

Interestingly enough, one of the best indicators of a successful scalability platform is the de-emphasis of the individual. It may sound a little cold or heartless, but a good measure of a company’s ability to grow indefinitely is how independent it is of any one individual’s input.

This is not to say that hiring and retaining talented employees is irrelevant, but if your business is truly offering systemic services or products, the absence or replacement of any individual team member should theoretically have almost zero impact on the company’s success. Practically every Fortune 500 Company is structured in such a way that even CEOs can come and go without making any difference whatsoever.

People today often have an intrinsic aversion to being just another “cog in the machine,” but any successful company operating on a systemic business platform is going to be set up this way. And if someone is working at an exciting company where they’re a part of something much bigger than any one individual, maybe being a cog isn’t really such a bad thing after all.

4) Embrace the Zen of Business

An aspect of the business world that’s often overlooked is the importance of perspective. People get caught up in specific projects or campaigns, as they should–it makes for good work and happy clients. But sometimes, it’s helpful to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Consider, for example, how much a single consulting job moves the needle for a corporation with $48 billion in annual sales. Not that much, right? How about the significant turnover that big, successful companies experience on a regular basis? Success at scaling your business can be a difficult thing to judge and measure.To truly embrace the notion of scalable growth, an ability to see beyond the “self” is a minimum requirement.

Once a company’s systems reach a certain level of sophistication, there are enough built-in redundancies and fail-safes that the company’s collapse is is far less of a possibility. A highly successful business entity can eventually sustain itself, regardless of who is in charge.

Source: http://www.inc.com/jason-albanese/how-to-scale-a-business-4-growth-tips-from-actual-experience.html