The Importance Of Social Media Sites In The Future Of Advertising In Nigeria.

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“The advertising industry is relentlessly inventive, that’s what we do” (sic)

Rupert Howell. Chairman of the London arm of McCann Erikson.

As at 2013, online sales in Nigeria through social media network were worth 3 billion dollars. Apparently, there are 600 million more people who own a mobile phone and have access to the internet and ultimately the social media compared to those who own a toothbrush. The research revealed there are 4.8 billion mobile users as at 2010 but only 4.2 billion people with a toothbrush. I guess it means every mobile should be sold with a toothbrush to ensure close encounters are engaging and pleasant in our society, technically the internet has taken over the globe to the detriment of essential utilities.

The above statistics are merely a bench mark for the assertion I will be making in this article. So, what are the key terms here? Social Media and Advertising; Social media represents low cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words, pictures and all sort of semiotics. These tools are typically internet or mobile based, a few that you have probably heard of include: Twitter, Face book, YouTube etc. A scholar simply said “it is an unobtrusive two way communications”. While, Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. 

Advertising is a tool used to inform potential customers. It is important to know that the advertising industry is a vast one, in fact Nigeria’s advertising industry has witnessed tremendous growth especially in recent times thanks to the advent of new technologies especially social media. Advertising in Nigeria could be dated back to 1859 via news-paper; Rev. Henry Townsend’s (IWE IROYIN). The emergence of different technologies further nurtured the growth of advertising in Nigeria and the world general.

            As ever before, the debate of the industry has centered on the best way to achieve results,  which brings me back to my facts and figures on social media: the idea that if Face book  were to be a country it will be way bigger than Nigeria , as it houses over 1.23 billion users as at January 2014. Face book as continue to innovate and evolve, the last 12 months have seen the new time line introduced, brand pages as well as the purchase of Instagram and the mobile app platform, monthly active users now total 850 million users, 20% of all page views on the web are on Face book, 425 million active mobile users, 2.7 billion likes per month, interestingly 57% users are female. What about Twitter? Twitter is regarded as the enigma of social media fraternity with its usefulness questioned by a lot of people, yet scholars assert it’s simplicity and immediacy as the key to its geometric growth  , but do you know there are 465 million accounts again bigger than Nigeria , 175 million tweets  a day.

            LinkedIn  started in 2003 as a professional business social network and as at 2014 there are over 300 million members according to the press release from LinkedIn , 60% of the members live outside USA in 2011 alone  there were 4.2 billion professional oriented searches on LinkedIn platform; YouTube is affiliated to videos, so many brands outside and within Nigeria have seized on its power  to be a viral media that augments traditional advertising media such as television. YouTube’s advantage is its availability and ubiquity. It is the world second largest search engine after Google; it may surprise you that it has 2 billion views per day. I can go and on, with the likes of Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Myspace etc. All these statistics are meant to make obvious and absolute the importance of social media in the future of advertising in Nigeria , this facts and figures justifies the claim that social media is very strategic to the growth of the advertising  company not only a developing country like Nigeria but also the world.

A novelist once said “you can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements”, Nigeria’s ideals and belief system varies from place to place: the North is mostly Muslims, the South is mostly Christians, influx of young and old, rural and urban, Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa; each group share different world view, thus the advertising industry in Nigeria must be deft and sensitive. The future is already here, most Nigerians spend less time reading the newspaper but they check mails, update Face book status, tweet trending topics. In fact social media have become a melting point for Nigerian elite, a haven of some sort. 

Social media is a global village, do I need to emphasize its immediacy, responsiveness and reliability for feed backs as opposed to the one-way immobile media like radio, newspaper, television etc. the social media is not just important to the future of advertising in Nigeria, since the whole world is getting digital, it is the bridge that will take the advertising industry in Nigeria past the miry clay of disorientation and ineffectiveness.

 

Objection handling techniques: Nigeria style.

Objection handling techniques: Nigeria style.

“Sometimes all it takes is goodwill or little improvisation…”

                                            Adeola Oyeyipo.

Once in a while prospects say or do things that hinder a smooth closing.  Sales personal are often devastated by objections especially if they have spent a lot of time trying to close the deal.  A few years ago I was in such a position with a prospect, we had agreed on the terms and all the paper work had been completed. 

All I needed to do was to pick the cheque and deliver the products.  Suddenly out of nowhere the unexpected happens and the prospect was visited by an aggrieved customer who had had a bad experience of the product.  According to the aggrieved customer my product was not in demand, it was too expensive and so on.  

As a result the prospect was no longer interested in our negotiations.  As you can imagine I was shocked upon hearing this.  I sprang to action. I understood that in order to handle my prospects objection I must first come with a “clean slate.”  I approached the aggrieved woman and assured her we could put things right.  I offered to resolve any issues and errors and re-stock her. This ordinary, but strategic, deed allowed for an easy passage; I didn’t just handle the prospects objection I also gained the trust of another customer.

According to the experts objections are a call for subtle action.  They say the last thing we should do is panic when faced with them.  Rather, it is how we respond to objections that determine the ability or inability to close a deal.  According to the marketing company Hub Spot, 58% of prospects that object tend to later buy.  Ordinarily objections are a positive because it means the customer has identified issues that have to be resolved before a sale can be closed. Ultimately, the sales person’s task is to manage these objections appropriately.  Let’s highlight a few…

Ø  According to Mr. Adeola Oyeyipo, Marketing Manager of Wemy Industries, ‘You need to understand the major reason why a prospect is objecting and be careful not to argue’. He went further by saying that in Nigeria, and practically all other countries, the major reasons for rejection are not limited to; lack of money, awareness of the product, negative past experience, competition and price.  Acknowledging and even pre-empting these objections is a jump start and will help build the rapport you need to adequately provide answers before the objections surfaces.

Ø  To handle objections successfully it is essential you have expert knowledge about your product.  If you want to be taken seriously you need to be knowledgeable about your customer’s needs.  Price, value for money (real or imagined), the cost of producing the goods, and most importantly the competition are all areas that need forethought.  Crucially, you must possess good listening skills coupled with the ability to think before you speak.

Ø  Direct your answers precisely to what the prospect is asking.  Handle emotional situations with care by treating them as if they are simply a lack of information.

Ø  When your prospect is objecting listen to them carefully. Don’t leap in too soon with your response.  First be certain that you understand clearly what their objections are!

Ø  When disagreeing with a prospect on any point always do so politely and assertively.  You have to find the correct balance because you don’t want to be too overbearing but equally you don’t want to come across as meek.  Be measured, concise and factual in all your assertions.

Ø  Show empathy.  Align yourself with the customer and always talk in layman’s terms.  Put yourself in their shoes and relate to their concerns.  Importantly, place more emphasis on the areas of agreement and underplay the disagreement.  This will show that you and the prospect have more alike than different; ultimately the prospect will then drop their guard.

Handling objections always comes down to having a strategy.  Once you understand the objection, chart a line of action.  Always be positive when talking to the prospect.  Positivity is contagious!  You will be amazed at the results when you put all of these together.

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