High data plans and online marketing
Creating the needed awareness about what you do, the trends in your business and so on is very vital for business promotion. advertising and marketing entered another phase since the introduction of the Internet. To even make things much easier, the creation of social media as a niche of the internet in general has helped to generate a more concentrated audience.
Of course you need some grassroot requirements to access the internet. A smart phone or laptop and the access to internet service providers. This is where I will be pitching my tent. I wrote an article four days ago concerning the issue of the high cost of internet access currently in Nigeria. Read full article here. Internet data bundle plans have rapidly increased just within the few months of this year. The cost of internet service subscription has increased by a whooping 150% if not more. Talking of that we are not yet sure if that will be the overall increase.
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There have been several concerns by citizens, even entrepreneurs are murmuring talkless of the normal internet users. In short, entrepreneurs murmuring goes beyond how much they have to spend on data monthly to run business to can their target audience be able to meet up?. The latter is even more important, you should know the rules; it is customers that pay for expenses. So what then happens when the market shrinks? I happened to branch into a business premises last week and the owner was complaining about the high cost of data and the need to manage it. It is like jumping in and out so that you don't overspend, this can also limit your opportunities to catch up with a pending customer.
On the other hand, our target audience are also looking for means to curb excess expenses on the internet. This means we may be facing a scanty audience in the online space. I am speaking from experience, not all are able to keep their data on throughout the day. It is a limitation I have tried to curtail with some of my customers by always sending them normal SMS and phone calls. This was when the prices of [data](data bundles were not raised to 150% increment. What will be happening now?
I am already seeing a decline in the current internet activities. You know when doing business, you need to track customer response, how many eyes are looking at your status and how you can leverage to put in the right advert. This strategy has always produced a substantial result but it seems there has currently been an alteration. With few users able to access internet services, could our daily advert be their forgone alternatives? The economy is harsh I must say and everyone (especially in the poor and middle class) are recalculating to survive. To be more precise, my business is thriving within the middle class region.
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I guess it is back to the drawing board. Even before NOW, the market was already running in a slow phase. The hopes of data bundle rates returning to the former is just hopes in disguise. We have experienced this several times, nothing always seems to come back to normal, you just have to find means to outperform the situation. Doing business in Nigeria is turning more to be a war zone. I just have to get better and better. When something is thrown to worsen the situation, tough skin must be developed.
To conclude, let me add, the issue of high data plans is a big concern. Many odds seem to be mounting more pressure on the upcoming entrepreneurs to be more precise. At least those who have had an influential customer base can breathe. They have those to pass down the pressure. Just for instance, this service provider companies are not government own, they are passing the economic pressure to the masses. Small entrepreneurs are the ones to suffer most of the heat.
The cost of running a business is getting very high for us and chances of making substantial profit is getting slimmer by the day. How many medium and small scale businesses will be able to withstand this pressure? Are we awaiting a shrink in the entrepreneurial market in a few years if the economy remains this way or even worsened? How will this shape the entire Nigerian economy?
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