Top tips to grow your business, defeat the competition and rule your business industry in Nigeria
The business space in Nigeria is highly competitive. With entrepreneurship becoming more attractive, many people are starting their own businesses rather than sticking to the generic nine to five employment.
Today, the market of every industry in Nigeria is a free-for-all jungle. Competition is tight, and the Titans have to compete on almost equal terms with the newcomers.
While that’s bad news for the big conglomerates, that’s good news for new entrepreneurs and Nigerian consumers. The healthy competition gives every business a chance to succeed and ensures that customers get the best possible value. Now more than ever, you, as an entrepreneur, have the chance to grow your business brick by brick into a powerful empire.
The playing field is levelled, but there are ways to stand out. There are many ways you, as an entrepreneur, can dominate your space and beat your competition. Here are a few tips to surpass your competitors and lead.
Table of Contents
Tips to Dominate your Business Industry in Nigeria
- Utilize the finer tools of the internet
The internet is not a new invention, and most businesses are already utilizing it. You would most likely find all your competitors using the internet in one way or the other to help their business grow. However, the truth is most businesses in Nigeria underutilize the numerous benefits of the internet.
Owning a website that allows online transactions is only the firsts step. The internet has many more benefits to offer your business than showing off your goods and collecting payment. The internet is the gift that keeps giving, from gathering and analyzing information about your clients to improving online and offline visibility.
One good example of benefits not utilized by Nigerian businesses is listing their business on google and other listing services. Listing your business on Google, for example, makes it easy for new customers to find your physical location.
All they have to do is type in the name of your business on google or google map, and google would bring them to your business’s doorstep. Then there are online customer relations, online coupons to attract new customers, updating your website regularly, optimizing your website, building your social media presence, and the list goes on and on.
Insight’s Marketing: You can read my comprehensive article on how to use the internet to dominate your industry.
But for now, let’s move on to item number two.
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Core competency and Leveraging on the weakness of your competitor
There are two major points of interest to direct your focus on if you want to rise above the competition; your core competency and your competitor’s weakness.
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Core competency
Your core competency is that one part of the business that you are super good at—the one aspect of the business that your company is most efficient at executing.
For example, in the restaurant space, your core competency might be the fastest delivery, best presentation, or quickest food on-demand preparation. Your core competency is that special ability, that thing you can do better than anyone in your space.
To succeed and stand out, you must invest significantly in leveraging your core competency and making it the major talking point of your brand. It is important to note that generic core competencies must be avoided, especially claims that cannot be verified.
For example, your core competence claim shouldn’t be that you serve the best food in the country as every restaurant make that claim.
Claiming to serve the spiciest food is more specific and easily verifiable. You must be careful in choosing your core competency, so you don’t sound generic and fizzle into the noisy background.
Staying updated on business trends is a great way to stay ahead of your competitors. Join our whatsapp community to know when the next free entrepreneurship webinar will hold.
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Weaknesses of your competitor’s
In every industry, there is always a problem that seems unfixable. A pain point that has been accepted as the norm and companies don’t try to fix.
For example, a major pain point in Nigeria’s banking industry is how difficult it is to get cash from the A.T.M. With queues getting longer and A.T.Ms almost always out of cash or service.
Banking customers are used to the frustration of long queues and irritating time-wasting. This is an example of a weakness in an industry. To surpass your competition, figure out what they are doing wrong.
Zero-in on the shortcomings of other businesses in your field and work towards fixing it. There is usually a huge obstacle to fixing this problem.
Read also: Tips for business risk management in Nigeria
Still, if you manage to do it and brand your solution right, you would be heads and shoulders above everybody in your field.
A business’s goal is to solve problems, and the company that solves the most problems most efficiently is bound to succeed. When your core competency improves on your competitor’s weaknesses and shortcomings, then you are positioned to dominate your industry.
Leveraging your core competency is good and improving on your competition’s shortcomings is advisable.
However, combing both strategies into your business is a sure-fire way to succeed and be way ahead of everyone in your space.
In summary, every business produces value. The key is to know which value you produce best- core competency, and which value your customers are desperate for- weakness of your competitors
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Hustle intensely
Beyond the strategies, the plans, and the tools, there is one secret sauce that can never be replaced, hard work. Business is hard, but Nigeria makes it more challenging. Your plans and strategies are only effective if you have the tenacity to implement them.
The Business climate in Nigeria is harsh. Most start-ups, even with huge investments, don’t survive past the first two years. Even when businesses in Nigeria survive the first two years, the next five years is a battleground. And when a business finally matures, it still has to struggle to stay above water.
In the end, above everything, your willingness and tenacity to do everything legally possible to grow your business are what would keep you in business.
Conclusion
Victory and domination in business are only possible through the right combination of hard work and intelligence. You must fully utilize all tools available to you while employing smart strategies and putting in all you got and a little bit more.
Business is not for the faint of heart. However, the joy of growing a business into a success story is priceless and makes it all worth it.
Do you know how powerful whatsapp can be in growing your business? Join our whatsapp community to learn how.
About the Author
Oluseyi-fabiyi Kindness is a peculiar and somewhat eccentric character with an affinity for the pen and a passion for business. His cynical view of reality makes him excellent at presenting an objective image of the world. He is a writer and entrepreneur with big dreams and wild philosophies.
About Author
- Op-Ed are articles published by guest authors. We no longer accept guest posts. However, we are still open to adding long-term content contributors to our team of insightful writers. To write for us, please check out inisght.ng/guest-post.
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