Genuinely disconnecting from work and enjoying a vacation is vital for entrepreneurs and their businesses.
Though a weekend getaway may seem like a luxury to many people, especially when you consider the financial side of things, it is, however, something that most business owners find hard to do regardless of finance. We mostly feel that taking time off our business would be a loss rather than gain.
For most small business owners, it’s always about their hustle. From January to December, it’s always work, more work, and yet, more work!
Of course, it’s okay to work hard. But it would help if you also take some time out to rest.
And do not deceive yourself, it would be tough to rest when you are still in that same house. It would help if you left – take an off-station vacation.
If you are like me, you probably thought that to have a proper holiday with quality facilities for that well-deserved rest, the lovely scenery, food and perhaps shoppers haven; you could only vacation outside Nigeria, then this article is for you.
We have put together a list of such places in Nigeria, and Yes, you can visit without breaking the bank.
You can travel on a tight budget and still have the most remarkable and fantastic trip ever; be it a weekend getaway, a holiday or plain-old exploration of your environs.
Here’s a list of ten (10) amazing, budget-friendly places to visit for a weekend getaway, family holiday or even a road trip in Nigeria.
The Brass Beach
This beautiful water body that forms the gentle ocean waves that roll in and crash ashore has its origin from the Atlantic ocean – The Brass Beach leads directly into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Beach, located in Twon, Brass local government area of Bayelsa State Nigeria, is one of the most extensive seashores in the country along the coastline on the Bight of Bonny.
Unlike the other vast beaches in the state where women are not allowed on the shoreline due to traditional beliefs, the Brass Beach is accessible to all genders.
The serenity of this Beach draws not only humans but sea creatures as well; little wonder why locals have found several hibernating sea whales on the shores of this Beach.
The Brass beach is most busy during the Christmas period as the tourist enthusiasts organize several beach parties during the time. However, this Beach, its ambience and properties are highly underrated, hence barely utilized. A Visit will leave any explorer hungry for more.
A Little Expose On The Twon, Brass LGA, Bayelsa
The brass city is the most popular city in Bayelsa, second to the state capital. Brass is a Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Twon-Brass on Brass Island along the coast.
It has a coastline on the Bight of Bonny. Much of the area of the LGA is occupied by the Edumanom National Forest. The brass city is home to a good number of tourist attraction centres in the state.
Tourist attractions in Brass city include beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches, the graves of British soldiers who died in the Nembe-British fighting of 1895, Mungo Park Residence, Akassa Slave Transit Camp and Tunnel, Akassa Wildlife Forest as well as the old consulate buildings.
Hotels in Brass: Do not fret over where to put your head to sleep after a lovely tour of Brass; she boasts of lovely hotels at affordable rates. A quick Google search might help you make a choice.
Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort
Ikogosi is a warm and cold water spring resort situated in Ekiti state. The ambience is splendid, and the most exciting aspect of visiting this resort is the fact that you get to see the confluence where both warm and cold water gushes out of the same rock.
The main tourist attraction asides the waterfall and the warm spring water swimming pool is the confluence of cold and warm water springs.
Yankari Games Reserve
Yankari Games Reserve is the most popular wildlife park in Nigeria. This serene atmosphere is located in Bauchi, Northern hemisphere of Nigeria.
This Oasis contains the largest surviving elephant herd in Nigeria and is home to many critically endangered animal species in Africa. You will find countless animals in this reserve; animals you usually see only in movies. Such animals include gazelles, wild ox, hippopotamus, crocodiles, primates and even lions and tigers.
There is also a man-made spring to take a warm dip after your safari experience. This experience is bound to fill an adventure lover with reverent awe for all of natures’ candid gifts.
Gurara Falls
The Gurara falls is located in Niger state. It is very close to Abuja (the FCT), hence it is one of the easiest waterfalls to access in the country.
It is a charming beauty to behold, with the sound of waters roaring thunderously through cliffs. It is however advised that one visits during the end of the rainy season when the waters are clear and still.
The requirement to gain entrance into the premises is one thousand Naira. However, more will be required if you need a tour guide or a boat ride through the lake beneath the waterfall.
Kajuru Castle
“It’s breathtaking, and I could not believe that such beauty exists in Nigeria. I am glad that I did not agree to travel abroad and I will visit the castle again for a holiday with friends! It’s an ideal setting with beautiful views and landscapes. They have a swimming pool, rooms and food cooked on request. Even our photographer was thankful for the fact that we invited him here. All the staff was polite and friendly, and we were sad to leave. Our photos and rest were wonderful!” Read more:Legit.ng
Need I write more? Those beautiful words by Francis Bolaji epitomizes it all.
IBENO BEACH
This Beach is along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and is therefore characterized by an endless shoreline. It is located in Akwa- Ibom state of Nigeria.
The Beach is popularly known as one of the longest sand seashores in Africa. Its ambience is one of serenity and splendour. It costs absolutely nothing to gain entrance into this Beach.
Kwa Falls
Kwa falls is the most notable waterfall in the South-South region of Nigeria. It is situated in Calabar, Cross River state and it is just about an hour thirty minute’s drive from the capital city of Calabar.
Her lush greenery is a beautiful gift of nature with about 250 steps constructed to give easier access to the water bedding below the waterfalls. If you love or have fantasized rock climbing, then this is one of the most notable places to visit.
Entrance to the resort cost five hundred Naira and as usual, with a little more, you can get a local as a tour guide.
Since we published an article on most lucrative farming ideas and business opportunities in Nigeria, we’ve been receiving requests for guides on how to plant specific vegetables. One of the top enquiries has been how to plant waterleaf in Nigeria. In response to that, we have prepared this comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide on how to plant waterleaf in Nigeria.
This is the last resource you need to start your waterleaf farm, so keep reading and follow every step to the end.
Botanically, waterleaf is known as Talinum Fruticosum or Talinum Triangulare. You recognize it with its edible, light green leaves.
This may come as shocking, but waterleaf is scientifically classified as a weed. Without waterleaf, however, we wouldn’t have some of our favourite delicacies such as Afang, Ukwoho atama, Edikan Ikong, Bitterleaf soup and even Melon soup (sometimes).
Why Plant Waterleaf: Nutritional Benefits
Preparing waterleaf in combination with avocado and alligator pepper can be used to treat hypertension.
Regular consumption of waterleaf can delay the onset of stroke and heart diseases, especially among the older population.
Waterleaf is loaded with crude protein (22.1%) ash (33.98%) and crude fibre.
A leaf of waterleaf is a rich source of lipids, vitamins and protein. It has as much protein as cowpea, millet, cashew nuts and peanuts.
The plant exhibits a whole range of pharmacological and biological activities such as anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
While it serves some medicinal purposes for humans, it also acts as green forage for management of rabbit feed.
All of these explain why there is a high demand for waterleaf. Some Akwa Ibom women confirmed this while speaking to a Straight News reporter. One of the women, Glory Jeremiah, said “Waterleaf farming is a viable source of income to us. One bed, depending on the size, can fetch you between N6,000 and N20,000. This is achieved in one month after planting waterleaf. From there on, we make it on a daily and weekly basis.”
Corroborating this, one of the women said most of them plant 300 beds of waterleaf in eight acres annually.
Now, let’s do the maths. Let’s say on the average; they make a profit of N10,000 from one bed. Multiply 10,000 by 300 beds, and you have the total amount these women make annually from waterleaf farming. A red collar job that pays N3 million annually is quite rare to find. That’s precisely the amount you can potentially make annually from farming waterleaf. There is truly a lot of business opportunities in the Agriculture sector.
We have more of your attention now, right?
By the way, waterleaf is planted most in South-South Nigeria since it constitutes a significant ingredient in their soups.
So, how do you plant your waterleaf? Let’s take a look at the step-by-step guide. First of all, choose a location.
1.Get a Good Land
Your land should preferably be sandy-loamy so that it can retain water. While waterleaf can grow almost anywhere, it thrives more in fertile soil with good moisture.
Like every plant, your waterleaf needs the right amount of sun too. So, ensure there is not preventing the access of sun to your waterleaf.
2.Get rid of the weeds
As much as waterleaf itself is a weed scientifically, that doesn’t mean it will co-habit well with other weeds if left to grow together. Weeds will always do what weeds do – hinder the growth of plants. And since waterleaf is the plant you want to grow, it’s essential to get rid of weeds for best results.
3.Raise the beds
Some people do not consider this compulsory, but it’s highly recommended. Make the bed size to be about 2m to 5m. Don’t forget to leave walking space between beds so you can walk freely and not match your waterleaf.
Create beds by tilling the soil, lift it from underneath. This is the type of soil believed to generally perform better in farming compared to the ones on the surface. This also helps with weed control and aeration.
Pro Tip: You can mix some poultry faeces with water and soil and spread on the raised bed to conserve moisture and enrich the soil.
4. Planting: The Seed vs The Stem
Now that you have chosen a good location, cleared it of weeds and raised beds, it’s time for the real deal which is planting proper.
You have two options when planting waterleaf – plant the seed or stem.
For the seed, spread across the beds and watch them start germinating within five days.
For the stem, however, cut them into 3-5 inches and plant in clusters. Endeavour to be careful while inserting them into the soil.
It’s not entirely a bad idea to let the stems lie on the floor as you plant, but it’s recommended to keep them standing for the root to penetrate the soil quickly and for fast germination.
Pro Tip: Plant your waterleaf early in the morning or in the evening when humidity is high, and the temperature is low.
5.Application of Manure
As mentioned earlier, poultry dung is a good manure for your waterleaf farm. Most waterleaf farmers have depended on it for this purpose forever.
Remember, you don’t have the apply the dung directly. Instead, mix it with water and soul to reduce its acidic contents.
Waterleaf can use a reasonable amount of manure to enable it to grow healthy and nutritious. However, do bear in mind that too much of everything is bad. Excess of fertilizer (probably because you have free access to poultry dungs) may cause more harm than good. Keep it in moderation.
Of course, there are also inorganic manures instead of poultry dung. However, everyone seems to be going organic these days. And if organic is getting the results, then why not?!
6. Harvesting
Waterleaf doesn’t take long to grow. If you plant the seeds, your waterleaf should be ready for harvest 3-4 weeks and 2-3 weeks if you plant the stem.
The best time to harvest your waterleaf is when the leaf has spread out and tall enough to be tied by a rope.
That’s the best time, though some people just start harvesting the moment the leaves start coming out. The implication of this “premature” harvesting is that it will not yield as much money as if you wait for it to grow tall.
Depending on the size of your farm, you can either harvest your waterleaf with hands or a knife. Hands for smaller farms and knife if for bigger farms to reduce the stress and ensure uniformity.
Pro Tip: Cut, do not uproot, except you do intend to continue farming waterleaf on the land.
7. Selling/Marketing
Now that your waterleaf is ready, it’s time to hit the market.
Since waterleaf and other vegetables are best consumed fresh, you may not have to do the harvesting yourself. Instead, reach out to women that deal in waterleaf in the nearest market to you to tell them about your farm.
What usually happens is they will come to your farm and buy the beds. You will only have to do this once; after that, it’s the market women that will be coming on their own. Yes, there is that much demand for waterleaf.
Also, you can sell directly to consumers and make some additional profits, starting with friends and neighbours.
Pro Tip: Don’t mix business and pleasure!
Waterleaf FAQs
When is the best season to Plant Waterleaf?
The best time to plant your waterleaf is during the dry season. This makes it possible for you to control the amount of water your waterleaf gets. In the dry season, your waterleaf harvest would be fleshy, fresh and healthy, which means more profit for you as a farmer.
Is Waterleaf farming profitable?
Absolutely. We did the math earlier it was shocking to see how much can potentially from this not-so-stressful farming. Just get a pleasant land, get poultry dungs for manure, raise some beds, plant the seeds or stems and start making your money max four weeks later.
What are some of the diseases that affect Waterleaf?
Though Waterleaf is one tough vegetable that is hardly affected by pests or diseases. It is, however, affected commonly by the Whiteleaf spot disease (Pleospora spp.), the leaf mosaic caused by an unknown virus, and Waterleaf can be affected by some pests such as caterpillars and what they do is eat the leaves of the waterleaf. You can get rid of them through handpicking. But alternatively and more effectively, spraying of ash on the leaves can drive the caterpillars away.
As a budding photographer, you’d find that different things inspire different people, from fashion to product, landscape, and street, even travel or wildlife.
No art is genuinely original, but every photo tells its unique story based on lighting and angles. We are often inspired by a subject or in this case, other photographers.
These 10 Nigerian photographers have carved their niche in different areas, repeatedly capturing awe-mazing pictures. Our selection cuts across different types of photography.
Here’s Top Ten Nigerian Photographers that can inspire you
Kelechi Amadi-Obi
source: INSTAGRAM
Number one on our list of photographers in Nigeria is Kelechi Amadi-Obi. Here’s why; kelechi dazzles with colours and light. You could learn a few tricks from his Youtube tutorials. His Wiki portfolio is massive but what catches my eyes is the appealing texture in the skin tones of his subjects.
If you have a thing for nighttime pictures, then keep Kelechi’s words close to your heart.
Starting as a lawyer Kelchi has become a renowned force in the creative scene says Vogue and I can’t help but nod to that.
Aisha Augie-Kuta
source: INSTAGRAM
Well, Aisha may be mostly political these days. She can’t help it as the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Kebbi. But don’t let that fool you. Aisha has eyes for good pictures and her New York Film Academy certificate in digital filmmaking backs up my claims. Aisha’s images tug at the heartstring. If you’re looking to create emotional pictures, then let Aisha inspire you. Just listen to this woman speak at TEDx – “we travel through our imagination”.
Andrew Esiebo
Photo by Grace Ekpu. source: INSTAGRAM
Are you a self-taught photographer with an interest in social issues such as sexuality, gender politics, football, popular culture, and immigration? Then you might have more in common with Andrew Esiebo. The first thing I noticed with Andrew is realism in his work. In terms of tone, his edit style reminds me of a young photographer I found on IG. Don’t judge in a hurry, Andrew towers above Chika but like most young photographers, Chika is likely self-taught and exploring his art.
TY Bello
source: INSTAGRAM
Oh, Toyin Sokefun-Bello needs no introduction. If I’m partial, TY is my favourite celebrity cinematographer on this list of Top ten photographers in Nigeria. Her photo style gets me because TY understands that less is more. I like to think the best stories are the ones we’ve lived. If you’re that type of artist who is inspired by a person’s history and personal journey, then you should follow TY because she’d teach you depth in one shot. Her work puts the famed quote in perspective: “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” — Aaron Siskind
Uche James-Iroha
source: INSTAGRAM
Now with Uche, let’s talk about edgy! Not so over the top that it hurts the eyes. But definitely edgy. I’m scrolling through his works and I’m guessing Uche is the kind of guy that sees regular crap and gets excited at the opportunity to #Captionthat. So if you’re that photographer that gets excited about a junkyard and random crap inspires you then by all means stick with Uche.
Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko
source: INSTAGRAM
This caption by Yetunde is dicey, but she said it and it’s not up for debate. You don’t need to have experience in front of the camera to get stunning shots, but the photographer has to. You see what translates in a photograph is the photographer’s experience with light, angles, his subject, and his camera.
Yetunde gives me that teacher vibe and since I read of her affiliation with Germany I’m tempted to blame her genes. I mean I hear Germany and I think of film classics and the magical minds behind their cinematography. But beyond good cinematography genes, Yetunde had her roots in advertising photography at Studio Be in Greven, Germany.
Lola Akinmade Åkerström
source: INSTAGRAM
Does Lola have any competition? I would like to know! Seriously, leave a comment if you think so. Her Awards in travel photography, landscape, culinary, lifestyle and more speaks for itself. If you aspire to storytelling and photography, and you desire to find your niche then follow Lola on IG and get to learn from this remarkable woman.
Jide Kola
source: Google
Wedding photography is officially a thing. And the pictures get crazier each day. Which is why I’ve highlighted Jide as the go-to inspiration for young photographers with interest in wedding photography. Follow Jide on IG and be inspired.
I like how he goes over the top with his subjects but still keeps it insanely good. That’s a blessing.
Bayo Omoboriowo
source: GOOGLE
Bayo is one travel photographer that makes you look on the bright side – literally. You may know him on Twitter, as the official photographer of the President of Nigeria; Muhammad Buhari, but that’s of little inspiration for a young photographer. So here’s what we can focus on for today: brilliant use of colors and color contrast.
Tom Saater
Source: Google
I have this personal quote that says: “There’s a story in everything”, which is why I respect street photography, photojournalism, and documentary. which is why I saved the best for last. Tom invites you into the experience in his art. It is simple and it is everything.
This is not Forbes and definitely not an ultimatum on who majors up as top ten photographers in Nigeria. But these ten cut across different aspects of photography and have been selected because as experienced photographers You could learn a few tricks from them.
A good photo can explain anything. And as with other forms of art, photography is storytelling.
This subject of storytelling is relevant in our individual lives and business brands.
Whether you intend to major in fashion, portraits, product, and landscape. The most important thing is to keep the integrity of the art.
And so I’ll close with these words from Aaron Siskind:
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
If you struggle with bookkeeping and accounting, you are not alone. Bookkeeping and accounting is a major challenge for a lot of people especially those with zero accounting background.
Do these questions ring any bell?
What records should I track?
How do I sort my business and income tax?
What bookkeeping method should I use?
Then keep reading.
Let’s talk about bookkeeping.
What is Bookkeeping?
Book keeping is the process of recording and organizing your financial transaction.
Note that Bookkeeping goes beyond recording financial transactions.
Your financial record needs to be organized. And it takes a process.
You can choose to simplify the process but you cannot completely eliminate it.
A small sheet of paper starched carelessly on a shelf isn’t a proper financial record. Your monthly bank statement is not a sufficient excuse for your financial record because, it does not contain all financial transactions.
Every penny spent on your business has to be tracked. Even the money you received as gifts.
Here’s why. For Tax purposes and to measure profit.
Whatever trade you do, business requires money. As a small business owner, you need to understand what is happening with your money in other to make the right financial choices.
And,
Now this is goes beyond small businesses to include freelancers and other independent service providers.
As a business owner or freelancer in Nigeria you need to stay steps ahead of the unstable political atmosphere.
So what aspects of your business’s financial transactions should you track? Every aspect.
You might know a bit of keeping track of financial record but what about organising your financial records.
Without organizing financial transactions, the entire accounting process becomes tedious.
It’s cool to have a fancy app that allows you to keep accounting records. But how sure are you that you’ve taken proper records.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Open a business account.
It’s important to separate personal account from business account even if all you do is sell human hair on Instagram. One day, the FIRS will come knocking and only a well-articulated financial record will save you.
Now, Bookkeeping may be tedious but it’s a necessary evil. In fact, you are legally required to keep financial records.
As much as I disliked Accounting courses, I have highlighted a detailed breakdown to help your business meet its accounting and bookkeeping needs.
TRACKING EXPENSES
What expenses to track. This is relative to business types, but I’ll try to bring everyone along. Regardless of your business need, here’s what you need to know: each account falls under the following account type;
Asset: Your assets account records all that your business own; cost of properties and equipment and even cash at hand.
Liability: This account reflects all form of debts owed by the company, mortgage, credits and loans.
Expense: Expense accounts records all the money spent from the business on purchase, payroll, rent and even advertising.
Revenue: This account is also regarded as your income account; it holds record for every money that comes into the business through sales or interest.
Equity
Thanks to technology, a single accounting app can hold all your accounting and bookkeeping records.
Types of Bookkeeping
There are two types of book keeping. The single entry and the double entry bookkeeping.
Don’t let the word ledger scare you. It’s a journal that records expenses. You know how small business owners have one general book where they write every business transaction. That’s a general ledger. It holds all records of your debits and credits. At the end of each day, the ledger balance shows the basic accounting activity of the day.
Now not all expenses debited from your account actually leaves your business. For example, when you spend money on an equipment your cash account reduces but your asset increases. In that way, you’re making expenses but your business is growing. Which is why you need different accounts for the varying need of your business.
This is where the double entry bookkeeping becomes effective.
Notice the difference in the picture above and this one? With double-entry bookkeeping, Credits and debits are calculated in separate columns.
The double ledger is a more detailed accounting system. If your bookkeeping becomes overwhelming, it’s time to consult an expert.
TRACKING ACCOUNTING RECORDS
Do it when your mind is engaged. Numbers can numb your mind, so the only way is to deal with it when your mind is engaged. Obviously! Trust me you’d know when you need and Expert. As your business needs increases you’d need more than a few basics in accounting and bookkeeping. But getting involved with your business account from the scratch ensures you don’t get swindled along the way.
Create a schedule and stick to it. Numbers are overwhelming when they appear in large sums. Which is why you shouldn’t put off today’s accounting task for tomorrow. Create a schedule at the close of day to balance your books. If something doesn’t add up, you can sleep and refresh and give it another look. For freelancers and other small business owners with irregular hours and income. Commit to reviewing your account statements whenever you find a free time in your schedule.
Balance your books. Make sure you enter the write transaction under the right account by asking a few questions.
What is this money doing for me?
If it’s leaving your account, where is it going? What did you spend it on? Questions like this would help you navigate the different types of account and maintain proper accounting record. Wrong entries may result in disparity in your debits and credits.
Prepare financial reports. No need to fret if you’re the smaller your business the less tedious your financial report. You just need to know the basics when it comes to preparing a financial report.
There are four main document’s required when analysing your business income for any financial year.
1. Balance sheet
2. income statements
3. Cash flow Statement
4. Shareholder’s equity
SEE this article on a step by step guide to writing a detailed financial report.
TAX REPORTING
Know your tax obligations. You cannot avoid tax. Like most small business owners, your aim is to keep tax bills very low. To do this you need to know the Tax allowances allowed for your business.
For example, Self-employed persons pay tax from their business profits not their earnings. Ignorance is not an excuse. For questions on tax calculations, consult an expert.
Running a business is no child’s play. Sometimes, being in the moment, you get carried away and lose sight of the big picture – The realities of your business. You forget to keep track of your business metrics and confirm if all is still going as carved out in your professionally written business plan.
While you are busy running your business, you must step back from time to time to evaluate what you are doing in a bid to validate your strategy.
What business metrics are you tracking in your business? Here is a list of key metrics every business should keep track of for growth.
Turning a small business into a big one is never easy. The statistics are grim. Research suggests that only one-tenth of 1 per cent of companies will ever reach $250 million in annual revenue.
One of the many ways to validate your strategy is to monitor specific business metrics that are essential to the growth of your business.
If you focus on the wrong metrics, you’ll waste time.
Your carefully planned business growth strategies that are often put in place by highly paid business consultants and growth experts will be in futility if you are not monitoring the right metrics.
You can best describe such neglect as ‘vanity metrics’ – metrics that add no real insight into our strategy and growth and may result in a waste of your valuable time and resources in the monitoring of the wrong parameters.
As an entrepreneur, I know how important it is to understand what works on your business and what doesn’t.
Business is unpredictable, and about the only thing that you can count on is that everything continuously changes. You need to measure your business’ performance regularly, so you know what’s successful and what isn’t.
So, how can you understand, manage and measure small business success?
The objective of this post is to highlight some universally relevant metrics that every business, regardless of industry or size, should monitor to stay relevant and profitable.
1. Lead-to-Client Conversion Rate
Your marketing is yielding results, and leads are pouring into your sales funnel. However, that is utterly meaningless if a good enough percentage of leads are not subsequently converting to customers. Getting customers in your business is the end game, not some fancy metrics on a social media dashboard.
Your lead-to-client conversion rate is, therefore, one metric that you should never overlook. Tracking your customer conversion rates will provide you with the needed insights required to appraise the effectiveness of your campaign touchpoints as well as your entire sales process.
How you can measure your lead to customer conversion rate?
How do you calculate your lead-to-client conversion rate? You can do this by dividing new leads by the number of new customers. I told you it was simple, didn’t I?
Conversion rates are equal to the total number of conversions divided by the number of leads and then multiplied by 100. So if you had 2000 leads, and 300 of them became new customers, your lead conversion rate is 15%.
Not bad at all!
If You Want to Attain success in your Small Business, Know How To Measure It
How you can improve your lead to customer conversion rate?
If the numbers are lower than what you expected (if you are ambitious enough, they should be), options that are open to you would include optimizing your landing pages and call-to-action (CTA) buttons; and evaluating your sales pipeline to identify where drop-offs are occurring, and or training your salespeople to improve the competence of their sales.
There is always something that you can tweak to improve conversions.
Be careful, however, that you do not tweak too many things at the same time and end up confused about what changes led to what results.
2. Customer Lifetime Value
This metric helps to determine how much revenue your business can reasonably expect from the average customer, over an indefinite period as opposed to just driving value from a single purchase.
The longer a business can retain a paying customer, the higher the lifetime value of that customer would be.
One key reason for measuring this metric is to ensure that the amount spent acquiring new leads does not exceed how much you stand to make over a given period from them should they convert into customers.
For example, how would you react when you discover that the Customer Acquisition Cost is ₦18,000 per customer, and an average customer’s lifetime spend in your business is ₦205,000 – happy?
Pause for a moment. Though the direct cost of providing your service is ₦48,000 you’d still need to account for other indirect costs and allocate a fair share per customer. ?
Additionally, knowing this metric can take you closer to identifying the higher value segments in your business, which will allow you to allocate marketing budget appropriately. If you want to improve retention of your high-value customers, then knowing how to calculate Customer Lifetime Value is not optional for your team.
How to measure Customer Lifetime Value
How you calculate your Customer Lifetime Value may depend on the nature of your products or services.
Are you offering a monthly subscription, or do your customers buy standalone large ticket items? Or, are their purchases structured as multiple repeat transactions spread over months?
One way to measure this metric, which I also consider the way to get the most realistic results, considering some of the factors mentioned above, is:
Multiply the average purchase value by the average frequency of repeat orders. Then multiply that by the average lifespan of a customer in your business to determine your Customer Lifetime Value.
If you find this to be confusing, don’t feel bad.
It took me a while to wrap my head around the math involved in this one. One resource that helped me understand calculating Customer Lifetime Value was this HubSpot article. Check it out. It breaks the math to step-by-step, making it much easier to follow.
You can also download an easy to use CLV calculator on the website.
How to improve customer lifetime value
If the numbers do not make sense, two options would be available to you. The first is that you would need to make changes in your customer acquisition strategies to remain profitable.
Are you paying too much for qualified leads from your lead sources? Find a way to negotiate it down.
Are you spending too much on ads that are not well targeted at your ideal prospects? Narrow down your targeting.
Or, maybe your salespeople are not effective at closing sales? Provide them with adequate training on how to close sales opportunities to improve their conversion rates.
It could also be that you are not selling enough to the same customers. It is established that it is easier to sell to those who have already bought from you before (provided you delivered to their expectations and above) than to sell to new prospects.
What can you upsell to your existing customers to make them buy more from your business? A more aggressive tactic here is cross-selling. Immediately after a customer has made payments for a product, offer a related product at a one-time discounted amount if they complete the purchase.
But of all the suggestions to improve Customer Lifetime Value, the most effective would be to keep improving customer retention – Do everything possible to turn your customers to your brand ambassador.
As I pointed out earlier, the longer the customer stays with your business, the more chance you have to earn repeatedly from that single customer.
Hence, a key strategy to improve CLV is getting the customer support and customer experience teams to provide an excellent experience as your customers move along their customer journey.
No matter what you do, if customers do not have a pleasant experience doing business with you, there is no way they are sticking around!
Recall, however, that no one size fits all. Learn what works best with your business and execute appropriately and effectively.
3. Customer Acquisition Cost
The simple information this metric seeks is how much it cost you to get a new customer. It is the cost of convincing a lead to try your product for the first time.
The importance of this cost cannot be over-emphasized, as this metric drives the very profitability of any business. If you find that it consistently costs your business more to acquire customers than you can make back from them, then you have a problem.
On the other hand, if a business manages to reduce the amount of money that they spend to acquire new customers while increasing its customer base, that is an indication of profitability.
To put this in context, let’s use the Oil industry example. When oil is discovered in a new field, oil companies calculate what it would cost to extract it from the field, the volume of oil in the field, and how much the oil would be sold based on current market value to determine if the field is economically viable or not.
In a similar vein, knowing the customer acquisition cost of customers allows the business owner to compare that cost with customer lifetime value to determine if the cost makes business sense. In fact, it is not possible to calculate the lifetime cost of a customer without taking into consideration the Customer Acquisition Cost.
How to measure Customer Acquisition Cost
You can measure your Customer Acquisition Cost by dividing all the costs it took you to acquire new customers by the total number of customers acquired in the same period.
As an example, your business spends ₦30,000 as customer acquisition cost and was able to attract 200 clients. That means that the customer acquisition cost is ₦30,000/200 = ₦150.
It is helpful to be holistic, as a lot of businesses make mistakes here and use a figure that is lower than actual, sabotaging the purpose of the whole exercise. Add together your customer acquisition campaign costs.
How you can improve Customer Acquisition Cost
If you depend on digital channels for your lead acquisition (and you should), a good place to start is in conversion rate optimization.
Are there any discernable friction points that are causing drop-offs along the way? How optimized is your website for mobile? Could you consider automating your sales process, so customers do not need to wait for your salespeople to finish a purchase?
Additionally, collect feedback from your customers and use that to improve and add value to your service in such a way that your customers are certain of the value that they are getting from you and want to stay with you.
It is also a great idea that instead of bundling up all your channels together, you separate them before calculating customer acquisition costs. That way you will know what works, or which channel is too expensive to be sustainable.
However, I will concede that it is more practical for online businesses to apply this aspect, as marketing online is fully attributable, and marketers can say with certainty which campaign resulted in what sale.
4. Customer Loyalty and Retention
While measuring your conversion rate is a big deal, the big picture is in measuring your concession or loyal rate.
If you lose sight of this metric, your efforts at building a business may just end up as a case of pouring water into a leaking basket.
You may be acquiring customers and making sales, but if those customers are not sticking around for the long term, and making repeat purchases from your business, the Customer Lifetime Value will be ridiculously low.
How to calculate the customer retention rate
The first thing you need to calculate customer retention rate is to determine what period you are measuring against.
There are three pieces to this puzzle. To calculate customer retention rate, you need:
Current number of customers (C)
Number of new customers added within the period measured (N)
Number of customers you had at the start of the period (S)
Here is the not so simple way of calculating customer retention rate:
Customer Retention Rate = ((C-N)/S) *100
Not so tough, right?
How you can improve customer retention rate
This simple calculation is the golden rule to building a business that is self-sustainable.
When you consider how expensive it is to acquire new customers and get them to the point where they see value in your relationship, you will learn to value them.
For your business to be considered as growing, your customer acquisition rate must be higher than your customer attrition rate (that is, the rate at which customers leave your business).
This means that for every customer that leaves your business, you will need to find a way to replace that customer, while still acquiring new ones.
Interestingly, and as I have said repeatedly, delivering a superior service that is customer-focused is the number one way to improve your Customer Retention Rate.
According to Gartner, 80% of your future revenue will come from 20% of your customers. That’s a huge figure, and if you are serious about growing your business, that research should be a wakeup call.
Obsess about providing superior value. It will save you money in the long run!
Last Words
Talk to any businessowner out there and they will tell you that they want their business to succeed.
Many, though, are at a loss as to what to measure to ensure that they are making progress on that goal, besides the obvious ones like profit and loss.
While there is some subjectivity to the metrics recommended here, I have taken care to ensure that they are as industry neutral as possible. So just about anybody can pick it up and run with it.
I hope that these suggestions give you a good start on how to measure metrics that add value to the performance of your business.
On Friday, August 7th 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Companies and Allied Matters Bill following its recent passage by the National Assembly.
The President disclosed this known in a statement via his official twitter handle on Saturday, reiterating his administration’s resolve to reform and improve the business environment in Nigeria.
Yesterday I granted assent to the Companies & Allied Matters Bill, 2020. It is a particularly important piece of legislation that repeals and replaces the extant CAMA, 1990. Let there be no doubt whatsoever regarding our resolve to reform & improve Nigeria’s business environment.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the new law would result in the reduction of filing fee. Along with other reforms, the newly signed law will make registration for small and medium businesses cheaper and more accessible in Nigeria.
How it all Began
On Thursday, January 17th, 2019, the House of Assembly passed a bill of an Act to repeal the 2004 Companies and Allied Matters Act Cap C20, LFN (“CAMA”) and replace it with the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2018.
This was after an extensive review by the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment. The Senate then passed it in May 2018 and forwarded it to the House of Representatives.
In their review, the Senate highlighted six benefits of the Bill to include
It will make Nigeria’s business environment competitive just like its counterparts around the globe
The law will empower one person to open and administer a business as against the old law that requires two or more people.
It will promote the usage of technology in business registration
The new legislation will eliminate all unnecessary laws working against small businesses
It will create a new legal identity for companies in Nigeria
The online registration provision will make it possible for Nigerians to register their businesses from anywhere in the country.
The Implication of the Newly Signed Law on Small Businesses in Nigeria
The 6 points listed above, as highlighted by the Nigerian Senate in 2018, summarize the benefits of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
But if you need a further break down of the Act provisions and its effect on businesses, we have highlighted some of them here for you.
E-Registration
The Bill has now made it officially possible for businesses to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) electronically. In other words, you don’t have to start looking for CAC office around you before you can register your business.
By the way, CAC had already commenced electronic registration of businesses via the CAC official website even before this law. This has only been an administrative practice, but now officially backed by the law.
Single Member Companies
Before now, the law only allowed tow people as the minimum to set up a company. The newly signed law has now changed that, reducing the number to one. This is consistent with the law of other countries including India, Singapore and England.
Before now, entrepreneurs who needed to register their businesses have to “partner” with friends or family members to enable them to register their business. That’s no longer the case now as you alone can simply register your business…online.
Limited Liability Partnerships
The law is coming with a new legal business entity known as Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). This provision allows for two or more people to come together to form a lawful business to profit can incorporate a limited liability partnership under the new Act. The jointly established business can exist as a legal entity separate from the body of its partners.
Attorney General of the Federation’s Consent for Companies Ltd by Guarantee
The former law required that companies limited by Guarantee to get the consent of the Attorney General (AG) of the federation before it can be registered. And the AG may choose to withhold such consent. Promoters of non-profit organizations have had to live with this over the years, but that stops now.
With the signing of the new Companies and Allied Matters Act, companies will no longer need the consent of the AG. Instead, CAC now has a duty to ensure the advertisement of the application in three national newspapers. This should cheer NGO advocates and stakeholders.
Minimum Issued Share Capital
There is an upward review of the minimum issued shared capital, as seen in section 27(2) of the Act. This includes both private and public companies.
For private companies, the new minimum issued share capital now ranges from N10,000 to N100,000. And for public companies, the new issued share capital is from N500,000 to N2,000,000.
Please note that this does not change the statutory cost of registering a business. A minimum threshold amount is still required to register a private company with a share of capital ranging from one million or less.
Name Registration
CAC is now empowered to cancel or withdraw any given approval if they discover any wrongdoing in such approval.
This is an upgrade from the former law where an offendant or an aggrieved person will have to write to the court for an order directing the CAC to cancel the improperly registered name.
This new legislation puts more power and responsibilities on the shoulders of CAC.
You should be worried about this if you register your business via fraudulent or improper means.
However, we hope that CAC would give all parties involved a fair hearing when they start implementing.
Articles of Association
The Act will abolish the compulsory prescription of the model article by CAC and instead empower the commission to prescribe articles which only applies when a company cannot provide its own Articles of Association.
This will allow companies to create their Articles, unlike the current provision, which forces the model Articles on companies.
Certificate of Incorporation
The Act allows a company, with CAC’s approval, to direct another company to change its name after the registration of such name under a name similar to the one by which the first company in existence is registered previously. However, it also empowers CAC to withdraw, revoke or cancel such issued certificate of registration where discovered to be unlawfully or fraudulently procured.
Statement of Compliance
Another registration requirement for companies has always been the submission of a Statutory Declaration of Compliance. This can only be filled by a lawyer or legal practitioner as spelt out in previous law (CAMA), section 35(3).
However, the newly signed legislation will be changing things here as well. The requirement of a “Statutory declaration in the prescribed form by a legal practitioner…” has been removed and has been simply replaced with “A statement of compliance”.
Electronic Signature
Whenever there is a need for a company to authenticate a document or proceeding, the Act approves the use of the electronic signature. As stated in the Act: “A document or proceeding requiring authentication by a company may be signed by a director, secretary, or other authorized officer of the company, and need not be signed as a deed unless otherwise so required in this Part of this Act, provided that an electronic signature shall be deemed to satisfy the requirement for signing under this section.”
Other Provisions of the Act
The law has made it optional for companies to have a common seal is now optional.
It allows for the reduction of share capital to enable private companies to avoid the extra burden of applying to the court for confirmation.
The law allows companies to render financial assistance to its members to acquire their shares after its shareholders have approved such.
It permits a Limited Liability Company to purchase its shares provided its Articles allow it and its shareholders approve it.
General and board meetings can be held electronically.
The law exempts all small companies that have not more than one shareholder from the compulsory Annual General Meetings
It is now optional for small companies with one shareholder to appoint a company secretary.
Public companies are expected to display their audited accounts on their websites for public consumption.
Companies with any form of distress are permitted to explore such options as merger, wind-up, compromise and acquisition. However, the law comes with the introduction of Rescue and Insolvency legal regal regime, which would focus on rescuing companies from insolvency.
Notice communication is now more comfortable as the legislation has allowed the communication of notice via electronic mail.
Wrapping Up
This new law will indeed make it easier to run business in Nigeria. Quite laudable.
The highlights of the new legislation for most small businesses would be the ease that now comes with registering companies. Hence, if your business is yet to be registered, the time to do so is now.
By the way, there is still the concern on implementation. From experience, the application is usually the problem with most government legislation and policies. While this looks good on paper, we can only hope its execution would be as good (or better).
I knew a lady who started a school with little or no plan at all. It began as a lesson class for children whose parents were low-income earners or too illiterate to understand the need to enroll their wards in a school.
Although the business started well, then it quickly expanded, and she wasn’t ready for the expansion. In other words, she lacked business strategy plans.
Plus, she lacked the proper financial tools and couldn’t track her expenses.
My friend managed to get the right permits and converted her classes into a school. but there was a lot more she didn’t put in place.
She had a dream and she wrote it boldly on the main entrance to her school entrance. The vision was clear to have 200 pupils at the end of the year.
Sadly, she never achieved it and I’ll tell you why, as I share seven effective business strategy plan that would help you grow your business, and explain how a lack of these critical aspects could ruin your business.
What to do:
You can tell you if a business would succeed by observing its choices.
As a business owner, your goal is to reach your consumer, and this intent must show in the choices you make from the outset of setting up your business.
If you already made poor choices, you can always restructure using these business strategies.
Note that these business strategy plans are not entirely new; neither are they secret.
Top players in your industry use these tools. However, they have been broken down to help small scale business owners and start-ups with zero knowledge of business strategy, like my friend, who opened a school.
You can’t copy every business strategy; you have to match your business strategy to your business model and location and industry.
irrespective of your industry, there are key aspects in business strategy plan that are generic to all business modules.
Here are 7 Effective Business Strategy
Positioning
The first strategy is to always know where to position yourself in the market concerning the needs of the consumer. You’re not the only one in the market, but you can place yourself at a vantage point in comparison with your competitors. My friend’s competition was the government primary school which stood across the express and a private school that catered to the affluent.
Your Vantage Point
The other part of an effective business strategy should be what makes your company different or stand out from your competitors. For my friend, it was her relationship with the parents and guardians of her wards. She gave feedback directly to the parents in the communication model they understood and received feedback in the same manner. The private school had its mode of communication, but it was very formal. The government school had little to no contact with parents and guardians.
Defining your target
Next, you have to define your target. My friend in the early days of her school would walk along the road targeting families in the most wretched living conditions. She would stop scantily clad children on the street to enquire about their schooling and even escort them to their houses to meet their parents. Her target was clear and a poster or colorful flier wasn’t the best way to reach her consumers.
Think Growth
Systemic growth is an essential aspect of business strategy. The success of a business is measured by the growth rate of the business. It’s with growth that a company can improve its service. With my friend’s business model, as the number of students increased, the running cost increased, there was a need to buy more chairs better tables, educational toys, and class fittings. This was where my friend began to miss it. She couldn’t keep track of her finance.
Facts not Wishes
Fact-based decisions are also important. I told you about the bold statement on the entrance to my friend’s school. But she never achieved it. The fact was that chasing numbers wasn’t the best move for her business at the time. She couldn’t afford expansion and her current capacity could only seat 25 students. Her students were getting older and their needs became diverse. She lost sight of her priority which led to her making worse choices.
The Long Run
Think long term. I know it’s hard to effectively make long term plans due to the inconsistencies of everyday living. But planning short term is like flying blind. The biggest hit to my friend’s business was the loss of one key staff. That staff doubled as a lot of things and my friend wasn’t able to find a replacement.
Measure your result. A business strategy plan is not a one-off exercise. You have to keep going back to the drawing board to shift pieces. At the start of your business, many things may not be necessary but as you grow, your business needs changes. If your business is anything like my friends, the growth rate may spike up rapidly and if you’re not ready, the consumer demand may crush you.
Your first choice should be to understand the people that you are trying to sell your products and services to.
Choose to improve your product or service; this is a choice that will help boost your success rates.
Be innovative, consider creating new brands that meet the needs of your customers. At some point your customers will grow older, change lifestyle and technologies, or even expand their family unit, you must be able to adjust your strategies to meet their needs.
Partnering with other inventors, customers, and suppliers is a choice that is necessary to the changes made to your business as your strategy evolves.
In conclusion, spend time reviewing your business strategy. The thoroughness of your planning will determine the effect of your business strategy.
The percentage of unemployed Nigerian youth rose to almost 14% according to the International Labour Organization. There’s no denying that Nigerian youths are hardworking, innovative, skilled, enterprising, and talented, but many obstacles hinder them from optimizing their full potentials.
Among the significant reasons for the increase in the unemployment rate is the lack of funding. Many Nigerian youths have amazing ideas that won’t only create employment opportunities for themselves, but for other youths as well.
Funding is an essential resource for any enterprise, a crucial aspect of building and sustaining a business for growth and maximum profitability. Luckily, there are several available sources of funds for small business owners in Nigeria.
Considering the high-interest rates charged by Nigerian banks, business owners – startups and small businesses, find it hard to raise the required funds to get their businesses off the ground, especially within Nigeria – Sources Of Funding For Small Business Owners in Nigeria.
The federal government of Nigeria in her efforts at meeting the demands of the Nigerian youth for a simplified, SME friendly source of business funds for youths have decided to create the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund.
Criteria for Applying for the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund
Two Major Reasons for Establishing the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF)
In a bid to increase the employment rate by making funds available to enterprising youths, the Federal Executive Council led by President Muhammad Buhari approved the sum of N75 billion for the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) for the next three years on the 22nd of July 2020.
Mr. Sunday Akin Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports orchestrated the memo that led to the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF). According to Thisday, the Minister informed the Council that “Nigeria can make one quantum leap to increase its GDP dramatically and per capita realities. But such can only happen if the country begins to invest in the youth through the establishment of a specialized fund that provides accommodating pathways to accessing credit, grants and needed funds for entrepreneurship.”
Youth Bank
The Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, unlike other government initiatives, is meant to serve as a bank for innovative Nigerian youth. This program is to support and fund ideas, innovations, talents, SMEs, skills, and other enterprising activities through soft loans and credits. From the meeting held by the Federal Executive Council, the Council agreed that the CBN, Ministry of Finance, Budgeting, and National Planning are to source for the needed funds.
The NYIF is to serve as a sort of Youth Bank that will fund and support the innovative ideas, skills, talents and enterprise of the Nigerian Youth. A loan and credit pathway dedicated to assessing credit and soft loans.This is the very first of its kind by any Nigerian government
Any country that has a thriving economy is a country that has financially empowered the youths. Nigeria’s GDP is where it is today because the youths have been ignored for so long. Innovative ideas struggle to materialize and even when they do, they are often choked by the many challenges of running a business in Nigeria.
The provision of funds for entrepreneurs that are willing to start and grow businesses won’t only have positive effects on our economy, but also the society. Positively engaged minds won’t have the time to conceive and perpetuate evil and become menaces to the nation.
The creation and smooth operation of the Nigerian Youth Investment Funds would truly increase Nigeria’s GDP per capita.
Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is a metric that breaks down a country’s economic output per person and is calculated by dividing the GDP of a country by its population – Investopedia
Some Frequently Asked Questions on The Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF)
New Businesses are opening almost daily; just as some businesses are exiting the scene. Several others are doing what you do. And guess what? Your target audience is humans who can only take in so much information. So, how do you ensure that you are the first to come to mind whenever they think of the products or services you provide? Simple – you need a memorable brand identity.
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word branding? Let me guess – logo? Nice try. But that’s not the whole truth. Your logo is an integral part of your brand, but not all of it. There is a lot more to branding than just a logo.
A lot of small businesses believe branding is slapping their logo on social media contents. Lol.
If you’ve ever gone for an interview and wondered what your interviewers think about you when you are no longer in there with them, then you should understand branding better. In the words of Amazon CEO and the richest man on earth, Jeff Bezos
As many businesses all over the world try to get noticed by people, there is no denying the place of strong brand identity in the mix.
Nike needs no introduction because…brand identity Photo by Josh Redd on Unsplash
And for a small business like yours, you need good branding to help your customers and prospects to remember you after first sight easily. You need a memorable brand identity.
Hubspot defined brand identity as
what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact it. Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers.
Importance of Brand Identity
1. Personality
Your brand identity is the visual representation of your brand personality and values. If you hope to evoke specific feelings about your brand in the minds of your customers, brand identity is your best bet.
Your brand identity is also an avenue to communicate the central message and goals of your business.
2. Differentiation
If e no be blue, e no fit be like blue is a line some of the 90’s babies will remember from one the famous Vicks Blue TV commercial. This, among others, was a brand identity with which Vicks Blue was able to differentiate itself from similar candy.
With a creative, unique and memorable brand identity, your brand can stand out among prospects and customers.
3. Consistency
This is especially important in this dispensation of digital marketing. You have to create and publish contents on different digital platforms, and to avoid confusing your audience; consistency is key.
Branding helps you to keep to the same styles and design elements across different platforms such that people can instantly recognize your brand, irrespective of the platform.
4. Awareness
A brand identity helps to make sure your marketing is not in vain as your unique brand would be in the faces of people each time you put out a campaign. This leads to more awareness of your brand.
5. Loyalty
Unique brand identity will help build customer trust and loyalty as it lets customers connect the product and the business behind it.
Here, How You Can Create that Memorable Brand Identity
So you understand now why you a brand identity is a must. That means you’re all set for what’s next – how to create a valid, unique, strong and memorable brand identity.
If Consumers constantly seek for specific information then, they may know more about what they want than we can imagine. Does your brand come to mind when consumers think of meeting a need specific to your category?
1. Research
You probably didn’t see this coming. I mean you know your brand, so what should be researching again, right? Well, your customers.
Remember Jeff Bezos’ definition of branding as “what PEOPLE SAY about you when you’re not in the room”… so it’s not about you, but the people. Your target audience. Your prospects. Your customers.
To develop the brand that would resonate with them, you have to start by knowing them. What do they like and dislike? What are their hobbies and values? Among others.
Now, that’s the first aspect of your research. Next is the second, which is competitor research. What are other businesses similar to yours doing that you can professionally adopt (copy)? Or better still, take from them and improve on it.
Conclude your research by getting inputs from your team members; small or big. They know the business (sometimes more than you the owner) and have also interacted with other brands. They sure have some essential inputs to make.
2. Get Your Branding Assets Ready
Here is the fun part. It’s time to convert all those research of yours into actual recognizable and unique branding assets.
Below is a list of some of the items to be included in your branding assets:
Colour palettes
Logo
Graphics and photography
Typography
Iconography, and
Style guide
We see different types of logos these days, and one just wonders what is going on. Your branding is something to be joked about. It should be a product of well-conducted research. That means it has to be done by a professional, and not just another “graphics designer”.
Here are the 3cs of branding that you must bear in mind:
Consistency
This goes without saying, right? You don’t call it branding if the tone of voice differs on different platforms. While you can adapt to fit the different styles on various platforms, your branding has to stay the same across the board.
Clarity
Your brand identity should be clear and easy to comprehend. You don’t want your customers thinking “hmmm, what are they trying to say?” This can only mean one thing – that your effort at branding failed.
Commitment
Creating your branding assets is not the Alpha and Omega of your brand identity. The dream of all businesses is to start seeing their brands everywhere immediately after creation. But that rarely happens. You have to keep pushing for a while with commitment and dedication before the results begin to roll in.
3. Your Brand Story
Brand story – this is the reason why Apple and lots of businesses are as successful as they are today. Not necessarily because they provide the best solutions as there are others before and after them doing the same thing (or even better) but not getting results.
Apple came with the disruption story. They came to challenge the status quo. A story that easily resonated with anyone.
Here, Apple’s first-ever TV commercial to announce Macintosh
This ad sums up all that Apple stands for. This is Apple’s brand story. What’s yours?
While you think about it, ensure that your brand story provides an answer to each of the following questions:
What does your brand believe in?
What identified pain points is your product or service out to solve?
people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. Your brand story presents that opportunity to share your why so make good use of it.
Simon Sinek
4. Review, Refine and Iterate
It’s okay to work on your brand identity and make adjustments every once a while. In fact you can make an overhaul. We call it rebranding. We’ve seen that happen a couple of times. Uber, Airbnb, Mastercard all had to rebrand at some points.
However, you don’t change a winning team. If your brand identity is working for you, there is no point changing anything as you may get your fingers burnt in the process. Just as we have stories of successful rebranding, there are a lot more stories of unsuccessful rebranding.
Wrapping up
There you have your four major steps to a successful branding strategy. One take away you must not forget is the fact that branding is not a day’s job. It’s not even something you can say you’ve done in weeks or months. Especially if you are trying to build a brand that will stand the test of time. Usually, it takes years of commitment and consistency.
The best time you you could have invested in your brand identity was yesterday. The next best time is now. Really, you have no excuse no more.
Have you been trying to sell your products and services through ads but not been getting results? Maybe you’re just launching, and you’re thinking of the best way to sell your products and services to your target audience? Have you heard of influencer marketing?
What is Influencer Marketing?
It used to just be about celebrities – mostly the actors and musical artists. They come on our TV and radios telling you (directly or subtly) how they used a product and believe it’s the “best in the world”. They then go ahead to encourage you (their fans) to go use the same product to enjoy what they enjoy.
The advertisement world has a name for it – endorsement. It worked and still works like magic.
Peak Milk did it with Kanu Nwankwo, and we all still remember Papilo till date.
Peak Milk, featuring Kanu Nwankwo in one of the most successful TV ads in Nigeria
MTN and Glo are notorious for it today. Most Nigerian artists are either Glo or MTN brand ambassadors (another name for endorsement).
But things have changed slightly though. Unlike before, when influencer marketing was only reserved for mainstream celebrities, social media (being a leveller), has made celebrities out of some people who have now become Twitter influencers in Nigeria. And judging by the trends today, you may also need them if you need to break into the Nigerian market online.
Suggested: 100 days of Twitter ban: Small businesses collapse, others struggle
Niche and Influencer Marketing
Think about this – how will you feel if you put on your TV and you see 2Face, Wizkid or Davido endorsing a contraceptive brand? I mean, if you know these three guys very well, you’d know they are no fans of contraceptives. So, such endorsement will most likely not drive sales – it will just be hilarious, and that’s it.
The same applies to influencer marketing on social media. These guys have (or should have different niches) and that should make them ideal for certain brands within that niche.
Every ardent twitter user knows Aproko Doctor (he is definitely making the list). He is one of those who have a well carved out niche which health and medicine. Now, to reach a broad audience on a health-related product, Aproko is one of the go-to persons.
Meet the top 5 Nigerian Twitter Influencers
There are Influencers, and there are wannabe Influencers. Basically, there are levels to this game. Here are the top 5 twitter influencers in Nigeria in 2020. I compiled this list based on their popularity, savviness, humour, activeness, mentions, followership (and controversy).
I personally got to know him after someone dragged him for being “omo iya ologi” i.e. his mum sells pap. Pamilerin turned around the situation to sell his mum and of course himself. The result of that is…
Three Crown Celebrates Mother’s Day with Pamilerin and his Mum
Genius right?
Pamilerin is one of the most known voices on Twitter. He manages to get himself in one controversy or the other every once in a while. The one with Peruzzi will not be forgotten though as it’s still the only one that came with a souvenir (Pamilerin was gifted a slap).
He clearly has worked with countless small businesses in Nigeria, but some of the big brands he’s worked with include Pepsi, Adekunle Gold, Coca Cola, Airtel, Glo, and the list goes on.
Mazi Ibe, Brand Ambassador for Lotto9ja Image Source: Twitter
Meet one of the two married men on the list. Mazi Ibe is another big name on Twitter that you may have to take permission from before you start using Twitter. Kidding, but there is no denying that Mazi is highly influential on Jack’s Twitter.
A die-hard Arsenal fan, husband and father. He has his own media house which he called Ipissmedia (seriously?)
Like Pamilerin, he has worked with several local and international brands. He is the brand ambassador of Lotto9ja.
Hmmm, does Mazi have a defined niche? I don’t think so. He is literally everywhere. Entertainment, sport, lifestyle, politics… just name it.
Aproko Doctor and Wife, Amaka Image Source: Twitter
Arguably the least controversial of them all, and also one with the most well-defined niche. Nonso, known widely on Twitter as Aproko Doctor is an aproko on everything health, nutrition, diet and medicine.
Corona Virus lockdown notwithstanding, he recently got married to his heartthrob (who he met on twitter), Amaka.
Aproko Doctor is the go-to guy for promoting health and nutrition brands because when he speaks on this topic, people listen.
With over 253k followers and counting, Aunty Ada is one of the biggest names on Twitter Nigeria. And somehow she is the only lady on this, laudable feat considering how male-dominated the industry is.
Many small businesses have used her influence to enter the “Twitter street”. MTN, Big Brother Naija and a host of others.
She is in a publicised relationship with another twitter influencer and doctor, Ejikem (who is using her picture as his avatar on twitter).
I didn’t say anything about the looks of others on the list so I’m just going to resist the urge to say she is beautiful.
He is from Edo, and his wittiness and creativity are out of this world. Is Alex a wizard? Lol
Using his creativity, Alex helps brands gain visibility and engagement on Twitter.
You can bet he is a ghostwriter too. I mean, twitter character limit won’t let him express himself as much as he wants.
He is an expert in managing social media channels on a large scale. One more thing that stands him out from the rest is the fact he engages with his followers a lot. In other words, he replies and retweets a lot of replies to his tweets.
Controversy? Nah, none that I know off. Just that his account was recently banned by Jack and his people at Twitter HQ.
Conclusion
This list was not compiled in a particular order so dead that agenda.
The aim of this write up is to help you see the potential opportunity to reach more Nigerians on Twitter using influencer marketing.
The above-listed guys are, in my opinion, are the 5 biggest influencers on Twitter Nigeria at the time of writing this. You don’t quite agree? Leave a comment.
Meanwhile, here are some other influencers I would have included if I had more space
