9 ways to thrive in the marketplace in Nigeria
The market place for businesses in Nigeria can be quite rowdy. It is easy for one to get lost in the hustle and bustle of getting business done in today’s Nigerian market place rather than to rise above all the noise and the din and to excel beyond and above all human expectations. Thriving in the market place should not be an expectation in your life. It should be the norm. If you really want to get to the top, you must realize that it is your ability to survive and to also move beyond survival that will determine how best you thrive.
9 Ways To Thrive In The Marketplace in Nigeria
The Nigerian business environment is unique. It is an environment that is fraught with so many challenges which make many to even wonder how others are making it in such an environment. The truth however is that if you can make it in the Nigerian environment with all its challenges, then you can make it anywhere.
So, thriving in Nigeria is not only the exclusive preserve of a few people. It can also be your exclusive preserve. Getting people to excel in the general business environment in Nigeria is only possible if the people themselves believe that they can excel. This is because due to the unique challenges that Nigerians face every day, they have shut themselves to the ultimate possibility that they can indeed succeed in their businesses. This has made Nigerians to possess the mindset that you must indeed have some sort of super powers which if you employ you will just magically make progress. This of course is far from the truth as you must have to put your back into it and work hard, regardless of your current status in life or how far you have succeeded. Hard work is always required.
So, in order for you to be able to thrive in the market place and to stand out from the competition you could do the following:
9 Ways To Thrive In The Marketplace in Nigeria
Offer more value to your customers:
This may sound cheesy and foolish but think about it for a minute. If you offer more value to your customers than the competition, they are bound to be more loyal to you. Wouldn’t it be wonderful just to have your customers recommend others just because of something that you did for them? That’s the power of referrals at work right? The point is for you to be able to get those referrals that will bring more business to you, you must be able to offer more value to your present customers. The question to be asked is: What more can you do to increase the value of your products and services? How can you give something extra to make the customer to be able to further appreciate what you are offering him or her? When you can answer these questions, then you will see yourself thriving more and more in the market place!
Find the gaps in your business and fill them:
As long as you are in business and you are a human being, you will always have gaps. These are not necessarily the kind of awful mistakes which people who do not know where they are going will make. These are just things which you forgot to do or things which you did not think of doing or just things that may have come up in the natural process of doing your business. How do you get to know such gaps? Well, some may just occur to you as you go about your business, others may even take the time to inform you and make suggestions which you may even disregard but if you listen to such suggestions well enough you will realize that they actually are the missing link to thriving above your competitors. But the best source of feedback of such gaps will always be your customers. They who have paid for your goods and services are actually in the best position to be able to determine what is missing in your business. After all, they are the ones who paid you money right? They believe in you well enough to pay money then if they have an opinion it should be heard by you right? So, if you listen to your customers carefully, you will see what exactly it is that they have in mind which you can use and take to heart. Only learn to listen!
Try many things keep what works
In your efforts to stay ahead of the other aspects of competition in your specific area of business, it is important for you to be able to learn what works for you and what doesn’t.
Keeping what works is the best strategy that you have if you indeed want to thrive in the market place. This is because when you try out a new strategy and it just doesn’t seem to work, then it is not right for you. There is something referred to as time cost which is the actual cost of waiting for something. In order for you to save time and most likely other resources which in most cases may not be replaceable you must be able to learn quickly and use what you have learnt to be of benefit to you and your business. The greatest way to do this will be to learn what works and to throw away what isn’t working.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel:
When someone tries to do something which no one has ever done before, it is said that such a person is reinventing the wheel. The easiest way to thrive in the workplace is not to reinvent the wheel. This is because of the tremendous amount of time, energy and other resources that it takes in order for anybody to become creative. So in order to thrive in the market place, all you have to do is to make sure that you’re doing everything possible to keeping to the regular side of things; which may not be easy for some but it is the most beneficial thing to do!
Don’t be creative of a copycat, be innovative
9 Ways To Thrive In The Marketplace in Nigeria
There are usually three kinds of creativity: copycat creativity which is to just copy what everyone who is successful is doing, pure creativity which is to create something that has never been done before and innovation which is to repeat something which has been done before but to do it better. Take cars for instance, there have been so many brands, models and versions of different kinds of cars. But if you decide to create your own car which will solve a specific need for a specific type of market, then you’re in business. Anybody can make a car, but not everybody can make a car that meets the needs like you can!
Be fearless:
Fear is the number one reason that has stopped many people from doing what they needed to do to achieve their dreams. You can know if someone is afraid by the amount of negativity that emanates from them. Their favorite word always seems to be “No” or something that may closely related to the word. When you hear someone who always criticizes people and who always makes sure that no one is happy around them, you hear someone who is afraid to do anything above his or her comfort zone. The truth about thriving in the market place is that you must be willing to go above and beyond your comfort zone in order to achieve that success which you are looking for.
Making sure that you are the master and commander of your destiny is something that doesn’t require fear. It requires faith! Of course you may not know this but fear is actually: Faith Experiencing A Reversal!
It is all about sacrifice:
Life in itself like all things is about sowing and reaping. Whatsoever you sow, that shall you reap. If you sow good things, you will reap good things as well. If you sow bad things, then you will also reap bad things as well. You can learn to sow the best things by doing all you can to make sure that your business is always doing well.
You do the right things today, you will always have the best results tomorrow. Learn to sacrifice the extra time, money and all the other resources which may be required for you to be able to thrive.
Learn how to treat people right
Some say that: “ A person’s wealth is people”. In many respects, they are right. Treating people right will always make you to sell your goods and services faster than anyone else who is your competitor in your area of business. This is for the simple fact that people spend based on how they feel and not based on how the product is supposed to help them. This is why the best sales people are those who can get people to become excited about their products and services. That transfer of emotion is what will take you from having a good business to having a GREAT business.
9 Ways To Thrive In The Marketplace in Nigeria
Did you notice the difference in the two words? It is this emotional factor that you must exploit if indeed you want to thrive in the market place and the only way that you can do this without it backfiring on you is to genuinely care about others and make sure that their needs are truly met. When you care about others, they know it and when you’re faking it, they know it as well!
Don’t blow it
Thriving in the market place is not always about making profits. It is also about values which you must also stand for in your business and as a person. Not everything is about pure profits. Sometimes, you have to also add something to the profits which shows that you actually care! If you can do this, you will separate yourself from others as someone who does care about others and who is willing to show it regardless of what other people may have told them about you and your business. Sometimes, quality is more important than quantity!
Thriving in the market place is something which you must strive to do. It takes continual effort and planning, which again is key if you want to succeed at anything at all in this life.
What are those things you do to thrive in the market place? How is it working out for you? Please feel free to share in the comments below
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