Business
Word-of-Mouth:
A Powerful
MARKETING STRATEGY
Why Customer Services for African SMEs Matters
Words: Ronke Lawal
“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that.
Word of mouth is very powerful.” ~ Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon.com
Whilst visiting Nigeria and Ghana at the end of 2012 I was struck by the
breadth and scope of enterprise in both countries. There are so many
fantastic businesses being set-up and that are growing quickly. But
despite this high growth one thing concerned me greatly and that was
the lack of attention to customer service.
I was often informed that it was something that is expected and perhaps
to some extent accepted; however I know for sure that customer service
is a crucial part of marketing. Here I have given some reasons why
customer service skills are essential in a growing African economy:
Quality Customer services
are the most visible and often
the most significant part of an
organisation at every step of a
business journey.
Whether
you
are
an
established business owner
or a new business owner,
selling a service or a product
ensuring that customers are
appreciated and cared for
is crucial and yet so often
it is neglected. Retaining
customers through excellent
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customer service produces
many positive benefits for
the organisation aside from
the obvious revenue and
profit results. I want to see
African businesses flourish in
such a way that the negative
stereotypes that are all too
often directed at the continent
are significantly reduced.
Make sure that the team or
the boss is always ready to
receive a client/customer.
Customers do not necessarily
know or see what goes on
behind the scenes, they only
know how they are treated
and are principally concerned
with that as a point of
reference.
No matter how
busy a business is, a client or
customer needs to know that
they can be “received” in a
positive manner.
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