Are you curious about how big brands like Dangote, MTN, Coca-cola, and many others are efficiently and effectively managed so that they always dominate Nigeria’s marketplace on a large scale?
Have you ever wondered if it is possible to play a vital role in building a brand that goes from non-existent to a complete takeover in the marketplace?
In every organization, there’s always one person or a group of persons that consistently put in the effort to shape the brand’s outward image.
He stirs the brand’s ship, and this person is the brand manager.
The term brand manager is usually synonymous with big industries and big brands. Therefore you might think that this role is exclusive to big brands, but in reality, every business is a brand, and every business needs a brand manager.
This role is crucial in every professional setting as it determines the success or failure of any business.
Therefore, it is important to know who a brand manager is, understand what it takes to be a brand manager, how to become a brand manager, the job description of a brand manager in Nigeria, and the actionable steps you need to achieve your goal as a brand manager.
Table of Contents
Who is a Brand Manager, And What Do They Do?
A brand manager is a person or group in charge of everything that relates to the brand.
A brand manager handles everything relating to a brand. This includes Brand image, Communication, Advertising, Marketing, and even customer service.
The role of a brand manager ranges from ensuring that his brand is out there in the marketplace to consistently communicating the visions, values, and aims of the brand to the target audience effectively and clearly.
The brand manager ultimately has the biggest role in branding and marketing because they are responsible for everything that the brand does and everything the brand represents.
A brand manager asks basic questions like;
- What are we doing as a brand? And what strategies are we taking to better position ourselves in the minds of our target audience or customers and the marketplace?
- How can we better utilize our advertising or marketing strategies to reach more people and increase our revenue?
- Where can we source the skills/expertise needed for the growth of our brand?
Everything the brand does, how the customers see the brand, falls within the role of a brand manager. If something goes wrong with the brand, it is the responsibility of the brand manager to fix it.
He influences how the customer sees the brand in the marketplace, helps build the brand, and increases brand awareness.
The brand manager researches to understand the target audience identifies lapses in the brand and tries to solve them.
Read also: Importance of Branding for a successful startup in Nigeria.
How to Become a Brand Manager in Nigeria
Building your career as a brand manager is not as difficult as it looks.
In this article, I will be taking you through the steps of how you can become a brand manager and stay consistently relevant in that role.
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Acquire the necessary skills
Due to the broad role a brand manager plays for a brand, most brands in Nigeria would require that you have at least a Bachelor’s degree in any business or management-related courses.
Suppose you have this; great, but if not. Don’t worry. You can still get the necessary skill from wherever you are. University-like open courseware offers a different collection of courses on Business for free.
There are also many resources on YouTube to kickstart your career as a brand manager.
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Get experience and build your portfolio
As much as you might know the skills and requirements of a brand manager, it is also important to get as much experience as possible in that field.
So, apply for internship positions, apply for jobs, focus on smaller businesses and try to help take them from point A to Point B. Gather as much experience as you can.
You can also look for a mentor that builds a brand and can put you through the necessary things you need to do to get started. Put that knowledge to use and build your portfolio.
Read also: Business branding tips: How to brand your business to stand out in Nigeria.
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Have a success and growth mindset
Be determined to grow and never stop learning to improve your skills to remain relevant in the marketplace.
Always strive to know more about your field and discipline. Be aware of the latest tools and trends used by other brand managers and learn how to use them.
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Job Description of a Brand Manager in Nigeria
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Advanced communication skills
Communication takes place every time a customer comes in contact with a brand. This could be through flyers, advertising, social media pages, and brand images.
The Nigerian market is filled with lots of brands offering the same thing or something similar to what your brand is offering.
To stand out and perform better, you need to know how to get into your customers’ heads and get to know their pain points properly to communicate your brand as a solution to their problems.
Your brand is not what you think it is. It is how the market sees it.
How the Nigerian marketplace sees your brand largely depends on how you communicate the brand value, its image, and everything the brand stands for.
The Nigerian market is very competitive, and the only way to win the race of “customers’ favorite” is through proper communication.
This can be done through the use of Advertising, Testimonials, reviews, and social media. With these tools, you can infuse the kind of perception you want from your customer. This is a basic and important job description for a brand manager.
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Creative thinking
This is another major job description of a brand manager. He should be able to think outside the box.
He should be able to analyze the market in order to determine where the brand stands and make decisions that will move the brand forward.
They need to understand the challenges that stand in their way and think out of the box to make proper decisions that will influence the brand’s success in the Nigerian market.
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Ability to conduct market analysis
Your job description as a brand also includes the ability to conduct proper market analysis and gather insights on trends and technology available in the market to make decisions for his brand.
He should be able to ask questions like, what’s going on in the market, what trends are currently in the market?, who are our customers?, How do customers perceive our brand?, and who are our brand’s competitors?
He identifies gaps in the market that his competitors are not filling and sort out ways to fill them
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Flexibility and adaptability
As a brand manager, your greatest pleasure is seeing your brand achieve its vision and goals.
And to be the go-to brand for your target customers, a brand manager but be flexible in his duties.
The Nigerian market is always changing, and it is not static. There are always innovations and trends in the market, and in most cases, a customer’s taste changes with it.
What a customer wants today might be different from what he likes tomorrow; therefore, the brand manager should be flexible and not too rigid.
They should be able to flow with the changes of the market and listen to what the customers want in order to serve the customers better.
Read also: Top 10 skills to put on a resume that will boost your hiring chances.
Conclusion
Becoming a successful brand manager in Nigeria is not hard if you’re willing to learn and put in the work. The tips shared in this article will help you out.
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About Author
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Blessing Chinaza is a financial copywriter, Financial Manager and Marketer.
She writes high converting sales copy, ad copy, Email copy and product description for individuals and brands, that compels their target audience to take immediate action, which in turn drives massive sales. She is an avid reader and loves to explore areas in finance.
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