The past few years have seen an influx of ‘big tech’ companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter into Africa, to power digital transformation opportunities, accelerated by increased mobile adoption and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is 2020.
Without a doubt, the future of Consumer Marketing in Africa is data-driven and consumer-focused. A deeper understanding of the individual consumer, the heterogeneity of the African market and the need for businesses to seamlessly deliver personalized experiences to consumers at scale is what will clearly separate leaders from laggards in this new “low-touch” African consumer market.
“Many times, marketers think strategically about the future only after the destruction of present success. Are you a marketer based in Africa?… Look at your business and analyze your company’s ability to shape the future. Are you a pacesetter or a pace follower?” These are thought-provoking questions marketers must ask themselves according to Dr. Uchenna Uzor, Faculty Director at the prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS), in his recent post on Afritail
Dr. Uchenna Uzo, a Senior Lecturer of Marketing Management, has established himself as an authority in Marketing Africa providing insights on retailing, consumer behaviour and sales in Africa and is focused on discovering unique retail insight in Africa to help businesses unlock growth opportunities.
For marketers to be more proactive and gain competitive advantage, Dr Uzo urges them to seek a better understanding of the present landscape, which he delves into by deeply examining some current trends that influence consumer behaviour, in the article, including Africa being a “mobile-first consumer market”, “mainly offline market” and Africa’s unique “sachet economy”.
He then challenges marketers to seek to “create the future of consumer marketing” by focusing on the following: a “shift from a mass-market approach to a data-driven marketing approach”, “execute marketing efforts through the lens of the local context” and to “personalize engagements.”
These insights were uncovered and analysed in collaboration with Terragon, Africa’s leading data and marketing technology company. Terragon offers data-driven multichannel marketing solutions that have helped businesses (SMBs, large enterprises and Digital Agencies) over time execute highly targeted campaigns by aggregating, enriching and activating consumer data for personalized experiences. The Company’s products drive businesses’ mobile-first marketing strategies through robust consumer intelligence powered by telcos and other data providers to deliver an expansive view of the African consumer.
Dr. Uchenna Uzo is a publisher of many academic publications related to African consumer behaviour, retail and marketing. . He teaches courses in Marketing Management, Personal selling, Sales and Channel management in Nigeria, Strathmore Business School, Kenya; and has served as a visiting research scholar to Stanford University, USA.
