Lagos, Oct. 18, 2023: Prof. Adeyinka Fisher, Deputy Director, Partnership and Coordination Department, SMEDAN, has urged people with special abilities to invest in proper marketing to achieve their business goals.
Fisher gave the advice at the end of a two-day capacity building programme on Grant and Growth Support for Business Membership Organisation (BMOs) and trade associations, organised by the agency on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, proper marketing is essential for any business that wants to succeed.
“By investing in marketing, you can attract new customers, increase sales, build customer loyalty, differentiate yourself from the competition, and be proactive,’’ he said.
Fischer said that there were many benefits that a business owner could get from investing in marketing when properly carried out, adding that it could promote their small businesses to potential customers in the local community.
He stressed that marketing was everything they needed to do to find out who their customers were, how to gain their patronage, and how to ensure continuous patronage with a view of making profit.
The deputy director advised them to also carry out market research as doing so would help them to understand their target market and help them to know the essentials for developing effective marketing campaigns.
He advised them to also create a strong brand identity that would help them to stand out from the competition and build trust with potential customers.
Fisher advised them to design a market strategy that would help them develop a plan on how they would reach and attract their target customers, and convince them to buy their product.
According to him, this plan should be based on a deep understanding of the market, their target customers, and their competition.
Earlier, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade, and Investment, Lagos State, urged participants not to let the challenges of the Nigerian business environment prevent them from achieving their goals.
“I am here to encourage you. No matter how the business environment is, we should not allow it to hinder our business because the sky is your limit, nothing should limit you,’’ she said.
The commissioner assured participants that the ministry would liaise with SMEDAN to see how some of the participants would be given slots to sell their products in one of the state’s upcoming exhibitions.
Ambrose-Medebem, represented by a staff of the ministry, advised them to join cooperatives so that it would be easy for them to get help.
She said, “ Nigeria is going to be great again. Let us just have the mindset that someone is out there waiting for our product and we will prosper.’’
Mrs Jacqueline Abayomi-Oscar, Chief Executive Officer, Partnership and Coordination Department, SMEDAN, also discussed business visionary and goal setting with the participants.
She advised them to have clear vision for their business and what they aimed to achieve.
Abayomi-Oscar said, “a business visionary should be able to think strategically and see beyond the day-to-day operations of their business.’’
The participants were awarded a certificate at the end of the training and a support grant of N50, 000.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Lawal Jamal, who produces liquid soap, thanked SMEDAN for the gesture, and said that the grant would help him package more products to meet his customers’ needs.
He said: “I want to say a big thank you to SMEDAN for giving us this opportunity to make our product well packaged to the world.’’
