Harun Muhammad
Our world, today, is electronically connected. From China to Australia, Africa to the US, Europe to Russia, we are connected through the power of the internet web. This brings the ease of doing business and favours a significant increase in business profitability.
Why digital marketing?
Organizational goals and business models become achievable through digital technologies and social media platforms. Digital marketing is a form of marketing that solely drives market forces to market products on digital media platforms using digital technologies. These digital technologies are the Organization’s website, Mobile Applications, Pages of a company on social media, search engines, digital advertising platforms, emails, etc.
According to a report by the Nigerian Finder in 2020, Nigeria’s digital marketing is worth $2B. Looking at the huge increase of digital subscribers in Nigeria we can boldly say the figures are way bigger than this now. In Nigeria of today, at the comfort of your house, you could place an order of anything you want and be delivered to your doorstep. To the west and south, logistics companies are becoming one kind of big thing. Thanks to digital marketing.
Small Businesses and Digital Marketing in Nigeria
Nigeria’s business landscape is unarguably lucrative. We can talk about the unfavourable business environment later, but many businesses in Nigeria fight through ups and downs, ins and outs, ons and offs, to raise a formidable brand. Some of these brands are locally and internationally recognized.
For every nation’s economic prosperity, you will have a small business behind that silent success story. Is it in the US? In China or Germany? Mention any country that doesn’t passionately invest in digital legislation to uplift the status of its small businesses. In India, according to a report from the ministry of commerce, the micro, small and medium enterprises are the largest employers after the Agriculture industry.
But then, small businesses owners are being faced with the overwhelming issue of digital-know-how to integrate the art of digital marketing in their business. Every so often, when business kicks off, business owners make sins of relying on conventional ways of marketing like print ads, big signs on Billboards or even flooding their social media timelines with, sometimes, countless pictures of products.
While this marketing strategy is spontaneously tasking, how about me telling you there is a simpler and more stress-free way to marketing your business? That is adopting the concept of digital marketing.
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Believe me, small businesses can thrive exponentially by employing digital technologies to drive the marketing modules and target your potential customers before you Jack Robinson.
In March 2020, Nigerian Communication Commissions released statistics of 128.3 mobile network subscribers using the internet. This presents a huge opportunity for small businesses to reach out to potential customers online. No business, big or small, should neglect the monumental impact of digital marketing and locating customers using digital technologies.
The battalions of would-be customers that can be located on digital platforms are pretty much bigger than the type of customers you will identify locally and physically. Through the effective use of digital marketing, the probability of your business reaching a large number of people is measurably high.
Amongst other importance of digital marketing are: customer service, reaching out to a vast global marketplace, locating your potential customers most sufficiently, less cost when compared to conventional marketing methods, getting the right feedback to improve your business modules, etc.
Many business owners in Nigeria have this way imaginary thinking of they don’t enough resources to lunch a digital marketing campaign. Many of them prefer to hold onto the traditional means of marketing and believe that as time goes by customers will find them since they have a small number of customers.
While this is true, it is not the best market strategy to reach out to an enormous audience. Today, to give your brand/business a professional stand, you need an online presence. If your customers can’t find you online, then there is a possibility of them avoiding your business like a plague. This what people do: They first use Search Engines or Social Media Platforms for a product and if they find what they are looking for, that is the end – one-click and boom, they become your customers. Plus, they may even refer customers to you. That’s easy, you know!
If you live in Nigeria and have been avoiding digital marketing, you may have a rethink because that is where the money is – where you can drive your business goals to reach out to customers. And remember, competition is increasing rapidly.
You make a choice!
Harun Inuwa
Content Strategists
