Recession: Expert proffers survival strategies for brands

A marketing communications practitioner, Mrs Iquo Ukoh, has  advised brand custodians and managers on the need to change their orientation and begin to think like enterpreneurs to enable them effectively engage consumers at this period of economic downturns.

Speaking at the National Institute of marketing of Nigeria (NIMN)  Fellows Awards and Dinner  in Lagos recently, the former Marketing Services Director, Nestle Nigeria, noted that the need to engage the consumers more than ever before, had become imperative for any brand survival; since today’s  consumers are becoming increasingly influential in the marketing mix.

She  stated that since the disposable incomes of the average Nigerian consumer today had continued to dwindle as a result of the economic recession, it had become imperative on brand managers to creatively come up with strategies that would push his stocks into the market and ensure acceptance.

She argued that the social media had become a platform where brand owners could effectively engage the consumers, noting that any marketing strategy that failed to accommodate such platform,  might not enhance the growth of the brand, describing the  population of consumers on the social media platform as too huge for any serious brand to ignore.

“It is no longer about the number of likes, but the how well the consumers can be engaged through this platform. The problem is that some brand managers are not versed in this area, and  as a result, are not too keen in delving into this area. But the problem is that any organization that fails to embrace this risks being left behind at the end of the day,” she argued.

She also believes that since brands are in a competition, the brand managers must be able to come up with strong, captivating and convincing messages, highlighting the benefits of their services or  products to the market such brands intend to reach.

She also noted that since the average Nigerian consumer is no longer ready to engage in frivolous purchases, due to shrinking purchasing power, brand managers must come up samplings and activations that would enable consumers experience the products or services before making their purchase.

While congratulating the newly-inducted  fellows of the institute on the awards, she charged  them on the need to give back to the institute and the profession, noting that there is so much intellectual laziness within the profession.

While congratulations the  18 newly-inducted fellows of the institute, the  president of the institute, Aare Ganiyu Koledoye, described the qualities and track records of the inductees as an attestation to the huge prospects the institute holds for  marketing practice in Nigeria.