Expert advises SMEs to adopt advisory method to sell products

A business expert, Mr Joy Akinlolu, on Tuesday advised operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt advisory approach in marketing products in a depressed economy.

Akinlolu, The Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) to the Bank of Industry (BoI), gave the advice in an interview with our reporter in Lagos.

He said that this method became necessary in view of consumers’ low purchasing power.

He said that with this approach, people would buy your products based on trust and would also value relationship you had built with them.

“They trust you to act as their adviser, rather than a salesperson trying to sell things.

“When you give customers valuable advice, they do business with you in return. Treat customers the way you will like to be treated.

“If there is an opportunity to test changes in the way you do business, it is during an economic downturn.

“Even in a crisis economy where your competitors are closing their doors, you can thrive,” Akinlolu said.

He said that effective marketing would translate to low distribution cost of goods while dearth of businesses could create more opportunities.

The expert said that in spite of the tough economic climate in the country, businesses could move from bare survival to growing exponentially with the right strategies.

According to him, researches have shown that 81 per cent of SMEs do not leverage on proven profit strategies to catalyze their businesses to grow.

“The key to success and failure in any business is execution because a large number of businesses do not do marketing at all.

“Competing based on price is a dead-end road that businesses should not ply because they may not survive the heat.

“They should monitor performance, work towards improving and aligning everything about the company to their various marketing variables in order to move well ahead of the pack,” he said.