Defined by Wikipedia, Business is the practice of making one’s living or making money by producing or buying and selling products. It is also “any activity or enterprise entered into for profit”.
I am putting particular emphasis on business in Nigeria and my focus is on the local entrepreneurs.
Every Nigerian based business person would agree with me that doing business in Nigeria is a different ball game because there exists a host of unique challenges that stand in the way of conducting your business smoothly.
To succeed at business in Nigeria it is pertinent that you thoroughly utilize every available tool out there that can help promote your business at the barest minimum cost.
The title for this article reads, THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED TOOL BY NIGERIAN BUSINESS.
Before I go ahead and talk about this tool, let us first discuss the most CRITICAL part of EVERY business. Can you guess what it is?
The most important aspect of growth and sales for ANY business is ADVERTISING.
Defined by Wikipedia, Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing attention from consumers.
Steuart Henderson Britt, Famous Psychologist once said, “Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you’re doing, but nobody else does.”
The thing about advertising is that it’s really expensive and so a lot of businesses shy away from it. It’s an obvious fact that the biggest companies in the world invest HEAVILY in advertising. Smaller companies with very small budgets are only limited to growth by word of mouth and have to grow ‘one customer at a time’.
This tool that I am about to tell you about is actually the most underutilized ‘advertising tool’ by most Nigerian companies.
Before I mention this tool, let us have a look at some of the traditional advertising tools and estimate of their budget and effectiveness:
| S/N | TOOL | REACH | BUDGET (=N=) |
| 1 | Newspaper Ads | Local Audience | Anything between 50,000 – 1,000,000 (For a single post) |
| 2 | Billboards | Local Commuters | Anything between 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 (Monthly) |
| 3 | TV Ads | Local Audience | Anything between N100,000 to N1,000,000 depending on the program |
According to Statista, in 2020, 275 million U.S. dollars were spent on traditional television advertising in Nigeria.
Looking at these figures above, it is clear why it is difficult for businesses to grow in Nigeria.
However, there is a tool that can trickle in the same results without spending an arm and a leg! Infact, in some cases you can even get this tool up and running with a budget as low as N50,000 only and yet drive in astronomical outcomes for your business!
Should I tell you what this tool is now?
Wait a sec….
The thing is everyone knows this tool already, however, they underutilize it because they do not fully understand its power.
The tool that I refer to is…..
*Drums Rolling*
The tool is a WEBSITE.
So you have a website already? The question is how well are you utilizing it?
Your website is your best, most reliable and most affordable advertising tool that you can get your hands on!
- Most Reliable
Look at your website like your business’ Head of Advertising, it is always up 24/7 and always ready to provide leads with information about your company regardless of the time of day, their location, and their language. Yes, your website can be configured to display your content in different languages. - Most Affordable
Compared to spending N2,500,000 monthly on a stationary billboard that is displayed to a limited number of leads, N50,000 for a website is a ‘toss’ and exposes your business to both local and global audience. - Best Option
Your website can kill so many birds with one stone. Other traditional advertising techniques such as billboards and newspapers are not interactive, the most they can do is display a number to call. However, websites can be embedded with AI, FAQs, and customer care bots to take information from leads and provide more information to them as well.
The thing is most people think that all it takes to succeed with your website is to just hire a web designer to get a website up and running for their company and forget about it as soon as it has been published on the internet. This is a terrible mistake.
So how can you nurture your website to be your #1 Advertising tool for your business?
- UI UX
UI UX is short for User Interface and User Experience. These conventions ensure that your website is built to appeal to your target audience. Your website should be easy to navigate and provide information that your leads need to see. Your website should sell your value proposition from the ‘Hero Section’ and should have a ‘Call to Action’ button to immediately engage your audience from the word go! - SEO
SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. Google is the most popular URL on the internet because everyone goes to Google to search for what they are looking for on the internet. So, if you get your SEO right, Google will help people looking for your services find you! SEO is the most powerful method to increase traffic on your website. - SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION
Need I say more about Social Media? Ensure that you point all your social media accounts to your website for your followers to get more information about your business. Facebook allows you to create a business page, you can connect your facebook page to your website to increase traffic. - PAID ADS
Facebook and Instagram allow you to pay for Ads that allow you to choose your precise demographics so that your Ad reaches your target audience. Ensure that you place links to your website from these Ads. The good thing about these Ads is that you can start with whatever budget you have. - RESPONSIVE
Responsive means that your website displays efficiently on different device types (smart phones, tabs and PCs). Make sure that your website is built to display well across all these device types. - LIVE CHAT INTEGRATION
You should integrate a live chat module or whatsapp to your website for live conversations with your website visitors. This strategy would enable you to quickly convert your prospects into ‘customers’. - EMBED CONTACT FORMS
A contact form allows your website visitor to request for more information. These contact forms can be embedded with your emails so that all enquiries from your website are channeled to your email address. - CREATE A BLOG
Also embed a blog to your website, it is an excellent way to build traffic on your website. Share your knowledge and professionalism via articles from your website to build up traffic. - TESTIMONIALS
Seeing is believing they say! Ensure that you get testimonials from your existing clients and publish them on your website. This would convince your prospects about your exemplary services and is excellent for customer acquisition.
SUMMARY
Yes, it requires a deliberate approach from you to adequately utilize your website as your #1 Advertising tool for both local and global audiences. Let me emphasize that SEO is the most critical part of website optimization and never fails.
Desist from underrating the potentials of a well nurtured website for your business as this might be the only thing in between you and global success. Your website helps you transcend the barriers of traditional advertising methods that are only limited to a local audience. Also, your website helps you achieve so much with a little budget.
THE WAY FORWARD
Do you have a website already and are not satisfied with its performance? If yes, then we at ServerPoint Technology Nigeria can work with you to overhaul your website and engineer it to be an effective advertising tool for your business so that you win and rule in 2023.
At ServerPoint Nigeria, we are excited to develop digital platforms that disrupt traditional business conventions.
If you do not have a website at all for your business, please send a mail to damola.adewusi@serverpointnig.com or press the whatsapp button at the bottom right corner of your screen to get started!
Please feel free to drop any comments or questions in the comment section below.
Thank you for reading!
