An entrepreneur. Most firms don’t take keen interest in managing and updating their websites. PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH
By MURORI KIUNGA
Kioko built a website a few years ago to market and
sell his office supplies. He expected customers to make orders online
and pay either by M-Pesa or cash on delivery.
His ultimate plan was to buy several delivery motorcycles and if need be partner with other courier service providers.
Over a year down the road and he realised that he
was getting more than 95 per cent of his sales through his outlet in
Ngara, Nairobi, which was growing steadily.
His two motorcycles were servicing mostly his old
clients who were placing orders through the phone and not the website.
He had invested heavily in marketing the site through social media,
bulk smses and emails.
So he decided to go slow on online marketing and
concentrated on his shop. But something stunning happened. Barely six
months later, he noticed a significant decline in inquiries and sales at
his shop.
He soon realised that his online marketing campaign
was a key driver of awareness, traffic and enquiries, most of which
generated sales.
Apparently, customers knew his business through the
website but opted to call or visit premises physically rather than make
orders online.
Whether Kenya is ripe for online shopping or not is
a debate that has been raging on for a while. Like Kioko, many business
owners have tried online marketing with apparent little or no success
and made their own conclusions on its efficacy.
Others have enjoyed some success and will tell you
passionately why online sales and marketing is the way to go. For
example, a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that
Kenya’s entertainment industry made more than Sh189 billion last year by
selling its wares online through applications such as Facebook and
WhatsApp.
Data from global marketing research firm AC Nielsen
shows that there is a big shift in Kenyan buyers’ habit from visiting
traditional stores to shopping online through platforms such as Jumia
and OLX.
Although many experts argue that e-commerce is at
its infancy in Kenya, mainly due to weak logistics and limited cashless
payment infrastructure, it is growing at a remarkable pace and no
serious business entity can afford to ignore this fact.
Whether people are shopping online or not does not
matter as much as the fact that today many potential customers are
online most of time.
Many Kenyans spent several hours on the Web each
day thanks to cheaper Internet cost and easy connectivity through
Android phones. Therefore as a marketer you have to go where your target
customers are.
Although most traditional entrepreneurs are bound
to be skeptical, it is high time every firm established a strong online
presence to remain relevant and visible.
Business directories are headed the dinosaur way.
People no longer keep them in their offices. They have all the contacts
they need on their mobile phones, iPad and the Web. If they want to know
where you are located, your contact or what services you offer they
just Google it.
A website is the simplest online marketing tool. It
gives your customer the very first impression and encounter with you and
your staff. If well built, it will give you a big competitive advantage
and place you at par with other players.
Before making any form of engagement with a firm, most
people visit their websites. What they get there forms the first
impression and often sets the benchmark for engagement.
Unfortunately, most firms don’t take keen interest
in managing and updating their websites or ensuring the appropriateness
of whatever information is posted there.
Mr Kiunga is a business trainer and the author
of ‘The Entrepreneurial Journey: From Employment to Business’.
Murorikiunga@yahoo.com.
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