By Jude Adeyinka
The preliminary theme of the most competitive analysis is a question: Who is your competition? That’s because most companies view their competition as another brand, product, or service. However, insightful leaders and establishments go extensive.
The question is not who your competition is but what it is. The realistic response to this is this: Your competition is any and every difficulty your consumers bump into along their journeys to using your company’s products. To reinforce my point, I will give a little illustration.
When I read about the fintech industry in Nigeria – I see a lot of work done from all the top players in the sector. I am particularly impressed by what I read and perceive Renmoney on the country’s media. So when I visited Nigeria, I wanted to get a first experience of the brand. I was going to review from afar the work that fintechs in Nigeria do. In fact, Renmoney was top of the mind for me.
Renmoney operates under the licence of a Microfinance bank but is in practice a fintech lending company. I must say that to have communicated their brand as fintech was indeed a customer-centric idea that I found creative. How else do you want to effectively approach and cater to the public if you drag the tag microfinance around you? Everyone knows how it is such a turnoff.
During my last visit to Lagos, sometime in March this year, I was impressed by the firm’s advertising strength but then that was not all. In fact, much more than that, I was impressed with the perception of most people interacted with about the brand. Having a combination of a mobile kiosk, an online platform and the usual brick-and-mortar are clear indications that this fintech company is headed for a more disruptive 2020. A clear indication of this is Renmoney’s mobile kiosk that I saw around some parts of Lagos from Surulere to Ajah and some other locations. These are the locations I can recall. This service was singularly bringing credit to the public. Imagine, thinking you need the money and as you turn around, you sight a Renmoney mobile lending kiosk. Brilliant, right?
At the end of the day, it’s your customers who have the ultimate idea of what is good and bad about your services. It’s your customers who buy your products; and in all truth, it’s your customers who will keep you in business. There are four good questions to answer in learning about your customers.
1. Who are they?
2. What motivates their behaviour?
3. Where do they spend most of their time doing and at where?
4. What are they saying about you?
Let’s start getting to know your customers, as intimately as possible. In fact, obsess over them.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos once said, “If we can keep our competitors focused on us while we stay focused on the customer, ultimately we’ll turn out all right.”
