Every country has its own unique culture (or set of cultures). For businesses, this means that while general rules for customer engagement and acquisition may apply, they will be most effective if they are adapted to the unique realities of the specific audience being targeted. For example, if you’re selling in Nigeria, you’ll need to know how to market your product to Nigerians.
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This article shares 7 tips to successfully market your product to the Nigerian demographic. We’ll talk about ways to appeal to the cultural peculiarities of the people and win them over. Please read on.
Build Trust
Sociologists often call Nigeria a “low-trust society”. By this, they mean that their people tend to be less trusting than their counterparts in some other countries. This presents a hurdle for businesses, especially new ones. But knowing that this is the default position of many Nigerians gives you an edge. It alerts you to the importance of building trust. And you can do this by being insightful, helpful, honest, and supportive of your customers.
Tell Stories
Humans love stories. Nigerians are particularly drawn to them. Storytelling as a marketing tactic could keep the attention of people longer than technical run-downs or regular sales pitches. The best stories are relevant to their audience, and speak to their tastes and preferences, hopes and dreams, fears and detestations. If your stories do all of these things while showing that your offering can be a force for good in people’s lives, you will almost certainly gain traction.
Connect on a Human Level
Nigerian cultures tend to value extroversion and reward the outgoing character. You may struggle to make headway if you aren’t building relationships or being friendly. So, a smart way to win Nigerians over is by connecting with them on a human level. Don’t just sell. Form bonds. This is easier to do if you’re operating on the micro or small scale, because you may still be able to interact with customers one-to-one. But even larger companies can do this if they train their customer-facing staff to nurture relationships.
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Employ Humor
Nigerians love humour. You see this in the sort of content they consume the most, and in their reaction to people who are great at eliciting laughter. If you inject a bit of humour into your marketing, it could capture the interest of more people. Skits are quite popular; so are pithy but funny quotes. Just be sure that your humorous angle fits well with your overall message, and doesn’t shift attention away from it.
Be Prompt and Consistent
This is perhaps one of the best ways to stand out in Nigeria’s crowded business space. That’s because it’s one area in which many businesses sadly fall short. If your business gains a reputation for being on time with service delivery and responses to inquiries, you’ll garner a loyal following quite rapidly. You could even integrate this fact into your marketing content.
Lean into Word of Mouth
One consequence of Nigerians being rather social is that they value word of mouth over plain marketing from a business. They tend to rely on the recommendations of their close friends, and they will distrust the opinions of experts. While this tendency has its disadvantages, it could work in your favour if your marketing strategy includes word of mouth. Encourage satisfied customers to tell their contacts about your offerings. You may even incentivise them to do so with a referral program that rewards them for sending new customers your way.
Provide Exceptional Customer Service
A major ingredient of any successful customer retention strategy is making them feel valued. You do this by treating their needs as urgent, resolving their issues professionally, seeking their opinion on ways to serve them better, and sending them your appreciation and good wishes on special days. Nigerians, like everyone else, want to be treated with respect. Marketing that’s supported by strong customer service will yield brilliant results for your business.
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Final Words
This concludes our recommendations for how to market your product to Nigerians. Of course, there’s a lot more to converting Nigerian prospects and leads into paying customers. For example, you’ll need to meet them where they can be found. And the technologies you deploy must be primed for this specific audience.
But the tips we’ve shared here are a necessary starting point. Follow them, and you’ll be on your way to winning the hearts of Nigerians.
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