Africa is an exciting continent to explore, and many successful businesses understand the benefits of a presence in this territory. However, doing business in the African market is a project that requires great care and consideration. As a whole, Africa consists of 54 countries, more than 1,500 languages, and approximately 1.4 billion people (2022). Coupled with the fact that it is the youngest continent in the world, with 60 percent of Africans under the age of 25, it shows the energetic nature of African nations and the vast business opportunities available. However, failing to understand how to promote business in the local context and the cultural nuances, many brands left Africa due to poor sales. Those companies expected success by only copy-paste their global brand positioning into these regions, which was a mistake. Whether you are a corporate or entrepreneur with a great business idea with no African heritage but love for Africa and its people, then this is for you. Here are some recommendations on how to market your business in Africa and get out of the shadow.
How to Market Your Business In Africa With Success
1. Hire Local Digital Marketing Agencies
If you are not attracting enough customers or you are just tired of the hustle of promoting yourself, then hire a local digital marketing agency. They have the expertise to grow your business faster than most marketing techniques. Through a targeted approach, local digital marketing agencies can assist you in engaging new audiences, increasing sales, and boosting your reputation. They are more affordable than TV/Newspapers marketing and will target your business niche, which is better at driving conversions. Digital marketers provide a wide range of services such as website creation, content writing, SEO, Google Ads campaign, social media marketing, SMS marketing, video marketing, and more. Additionally, they offer measurable results by providing monthly or quarterly reports.
2. Use Referrals and Recommendations
Referral and recommendation marketing is a strategy businesses use to encourage their current customers to refer their services or products in their network. It is one of the most cost-effective sales techniques to grow your business. In African countries, customers trust referrals and recommendations more than conventional advertisements. Moreover, people are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend or a family member. So, providing exceptional service to your customers should be your priority. Once customers have a good experience with your company, they will talk about your brand.
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3. Find Reliable African Business Directory & Listing
Let us begin with one simple fact: your business needs an online presence. Being more than just a trend, it is a crucial component of any successful marketing campaign. Unfortunately, millions of businesses do not invest in any marketing channels. It is not surprising to see roughly 50% of businesses shut down by their fifth year. In the digital marketing world, a business directory refers to an online listing of businesses. The listing provides information about specific organizations, such as the name, address, contact information, photos, and the services/products offered. If you want to succeed in promoting your business in Africa, you should consider listing your business in a reliable African business directory. Because search engines like Google and Bing love trustworthy local business directories with accurate information that showcase companies’ details and expertise. And Afrikta is the best place to start.
4. Use Partnership and Influencers
A business partnership is an incredibly effective strategy to boost your business growth in Africa. Especially when you do not have enough time, budget, or skills to position your product in the market. As a business owner, this is a golden ticket to massive success. It connects you with existing companies or influencers that have the tools and audience to help you grow. Such organizations spent years building their reputation. Through content, advertisements, and various kind of marketing, they have gradually secured a list of interested customers and prospects.
By working with a company closely aligned with your products or services, you can get tremendous exposure and position your business more strategically in the marketplace. You get the audience’s trust right away when your partner supports your brand. Also, people find you faster because you work with a brand they already know. However, every business partnership should benefit both parties through a win-win agreement.
5. Sponsor Events
Certainly, sponsorship marketing is one of the popular marketing tools used by many businesses to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. When done efficiently, sponsorship can influence consumer preference and make your brand stand out from the crowd. As it increases business credibility, improves its public image, and builds prestige. When building your marketing plan, you can sponsor an event and cause that your ideal customers care about. Beyond brand awareness, it is a powerful marketing method that enhances the impact business can have on consumers. Different from other advertisements, sponsorship creates dynamic connections with positive ideas.
Conclusion
To conclude, the above recommendations on how to market your business in Africa are not exhaustive. Your business success also relies on other parameters like proper market research. For instance, you can start by answering the following questions: Do African consumers need your products? How may the current trends in your chosen industry alter over the next five to ten years? These questions may be hard to answer because such data are not always available to the public. Therefore, you need to conduct market research or pay someone to do it on your behalf. Although this can be time and capital-intensive, if done well, you will likely have an advantage over your competitors who move in blind. It also will help you get a solid sense of how the market might change and maybe even give you the chance to help shape policies that influence the market.
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