Think local, Buy local

The present economic situation in Nigeria has necessitated the migration towards locally produced brands. Given the situation where the imported brands are either too expensive or not easily available, the opportunities for local brands to thrive is enormous. The incidence of people substituting some imported products previously found in their shopping basket with equally good local options is on the increase.

This renaissance is gathering momentum and has received the support of prominent Nigerians with the catch phrase – “buy Naija” becoming more popular by the day. Local production comes with many benefits and challenges – on the pro side it provides jobs locally and puts less strain on the exchange rate and conversely, there are supply chain issues like raw materials sourcing, manpower, and power generation amongst many other issues. The focus of this article however is looking at the role of marketing in driving sustainability and continued relevance of locally produced brands to consumers on a long term basis. The following factors are important to the success of local brands:

·       Build trust through product quality: In the first place, a lot of people may get tuned off locally produced brands due to their skepticism on quality.  Quality is the lifeline of any brand and it doesn’t stop with launching a good product but also maintaining the quality by which the brand is known. Aside the product quality, the packaging quality is equally critical. The appearance of the product on the shelf is the first impression that consumers have of the brand. Good quality packaging creates a stand out at the point of purchase and communicates what the brand itself stands for. The importance of packaging has been evident in brands that have lost sales soon after a change in their packaging due to non-acceptance by consumers.

·       Fit for purpose route to market: It is important to get the route to market strategy right for a local brand. For such brands, the wide network enjoyed by multinationals is a luxury that they cannot afford; as such there is need to craft a route to market plan that is sustainable and fit for purpose for the brand. Such a brand may develop a phased roll out plan for their brand, which ensures they consolidate in an area before expanding into other regions. This way the brand penetration is built sustainably and is aligned with their available resources.

·       Regular product availability: A major limiting factor to sales and growth is when products are not able to get into the hands of the end consumers as at when required. Logistical factors like distribution vehicles, out of stock situations can affect the viability of a product and lead to brand switching by consumers.

·       Driving awareness: Even though many local manufacturers do not pay good attention to marketing and often a small budget is allocated towards marketing activities; it is important to know that marketing provides the platform for building brand awareness, brand recall and retention. It is logical to understand the market, their consumers and develop a marketing strategy and plan that can deliver on the brand objectives. A key component is to leverage the “made in Nigeria” catch phrase while the momentum is still high; riding on the wave of popularity and patriotism associated with proudly made in Nigeria goods. A marketing template that works for multinationals will not be applicable here; as such a targeted marketing campaign rather than a mass media campaign is what is needed. Different marketing touchpoints that can be deployed towards the brands are word of mouth marketing, digital marketing, radio, point of sale merchandizing etc.

While Nigerians have the appetite for it, companies should take advantage of this window to entrench themselves in the heart of their customers/consumers.

Bolajoko Bayo-Ajayi