Yemi Ajibade Shares Lessons Taken From The Naira Scarcity In Nigeria

Photo Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko - Pexel 

Yemi Ajibade is one of  Africa’s Leading Marketing Trainers, wielding expertise in consumer goods branding and marketing. Yemi started his professional career at Chocolate City Music, one of Africa’s largest record labels. As a Digital Marketer, he contributed to the record label breaking several streaming records. He was also instrumental in developing the marketing strategy that got Ckay’s Love Nwantinti Remix on Billboard’s No 2 Global Chart. 

Yemi shares two no-fail ways to get customers when other strategies fail. Below are the lessons taken from the Naira scarcity in Nigeria.

For some weeks now, Nigerians have been facing the issue of cash scarcity. Cash has gotten so scarce that people are paying up to 10% extra in order to withdraw from POS operators. Nigeria is a very cash-based economy. And unless you are the CEO of a multinational company, you can hardly survive without cash in Nigeria. I honestly with my fellow Nigerians facing this cash scarcity.

However, my post isn’t about Naira scarcity. It's about something crucial to every business. And that is, how do you get customers when there seems to be a scarcity of them? If “cash is king” in business, customers are the citizens that make that kingdom survive.

Like every business owner, my guess is, you are looking for more customers? And sometimes, it feels like there is a scarcity of them.

There are some lessons we can learn from the cash scarcity situation in Nigerian that applies to getting customers in business.

1. Don’t search for “cash” where everyone else is:

Typically, our go-to places for cash are the bank, ATM, and POS operators. But right now, those channels are totally clogged with hundreds of people. In the same way, you may be operating in an industry that is filled with competitors. And typically, that means you get less piece of the pie (customers).

This is my first recommendation. If you are badly seeking customers for your business, you cannot depend on the channels everyone else is using. If everyone is flooding social media for customers, that means the probability of you getting buyers there gets lower and lower. (Don't get it twisted, social media remains a fantastic place to get customers). Therefore, if you want to survive the scarcity, you may need to look elsewhere. Start exploring other marketing channels with low competition (before it gets wild).

This is not the time to depend on the usual marketing channels we know. There are other channels you can explore. Depending on what you do, you can try out email marketing, offline distribution, community building, and so on.

2. Form strategic partnerships:

One of the ways I have personally survived the cash scarcity is through my “partnership” with a friend. When either of us has some cash, we share it with each other. You can’t grow alone in business. You need to form strategic partnerships. Look out for people that have complementary customers like you.

A classic example is the Beans and Bread reference we make in Nigeria. Whatever industry you are in, find your beans sellers. Bread always follows the beans (quote that)

This week’s prompt: Try a new marketing channel you haven’t used before. This could be LinkedIn Ads, sending proposals, Google Search Ads, TikTok Ads, Mobile Game Apps, or anything. Explore and reiterate.

Do you need more in-depth clarity for your business? Do you feel you have a great product but aren’t sure how to push it? Or do you have an idea bubbling in your head and you need someone to bounce it with? Click here to book a free a slot to get clarity on any area of your business.