Marketing in Africa is a tricky field to navigate, with the continent boasting over 54 countries and an incredibly diverse population.
For example, Nigeria has a population of 186 million people- more than any other country on the continent.
African nations have varying levels of economic development and different marketing strategies are needed for each nation to be successful.
One must be willing to explore uncharted territory and experiment with new approaches. This post will cover the basics of marketing in Africa, as well as some tips for how to successfully market your products or services there.
How does culture affect marketing activities in Africa?
It is clear that culture affects marketing. It’s also true that cultural diversity has a significant impact on how marketers reach consumers and approach advertising at all levels, from consumer behavior to the strategies of companies themselves. The values most common among an individual or population are usually what shapes ads in their respective countries, so it’s important for any company doing business internationally to adopt this understanding into its strategy as they interact with new cultures every day.
The influence of language on a country’s customs and traditions is clear. The findings indicate that it’s possible for managers to design better business strategies when entering the African market, as languages combine with other factors in different ways across cultures.
What to consider when marketing in Africa?
Pricing strategy
While discounts are a common tool used by many businesses, it can actually hinder success. The bigger mistake lies in not understanding the culture here- customers don’t care for loyalty and they’re always willing to move on when there’s a better deal!
Another point to take into account is not to let another company come to drag your customers away. This is because they will compete with you based on price, which means that a lower-priced competitor could take some of the market share.
Types of products
Necessity products are the first to be sold in any store. This is because they are necessary items, and it’s good for business if people need them urgently. If you want to sell luxury or non-necessities then start with a necessity; however don’t go ahead with launching something like that unless there already exists an eager market begging for your product, otherwise overtaking other massively selling products will be easy work as most of these goods on the African continent tend have inferior standards which should make yours look better by comparison once word gets around about how cheap it is compared to what usually sells here – this would win many hearts!
Target groups
To be a successful entrepreneur in Africa, your products need to either have an amazing price or feed their proud attitude and rich.
The ultra-rich people love bragging about how expensive their purchases are and they would never buy something that is not ridiculously pricey if it feeds this trait.
If you want these type of customers’ business then make sure quality is top notch but whatever you do keep prices high so as long as there’s enough profit left over for them at least.
Marketing Channels
The African market is a very interesting and emerging marketplace that has been gaining momentum as more countries in the continent become affluent. In order to target this audience, it’s important for marketers to know which marketing channels are best suited for their needs. Social media platforms such as Facebook provide an excellent platform to speak directly with consumers while also getting feedback on products or brands through comments, shares and likes. PPC campaigns can be used effectively by targeting those who have already shown interest in your brand; however they should only serve one goal at once: either lead generation or conversion rate optimization (CRO).
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram advertising are the most popular among African users and provide a great way to reach your target audience in a cost-effective manner. However, traditional marketing channels like TV ads or print media also work well for reaching this demographic because those forms of content can still grab their attention due to cultural traditions that have been passed down over time. It is important not only find out where they live but what works best with them when it comes to communication as different technologies may hold more weight than others depending on how culture has influenced changes in social norms.
TV Ads
TV ads are a great way to reach your customers with an important offer or message. Unfortunately, this strategy may not be the best for new businesses because it’s more expensive than other types of advertising and TV viewership is on the decline in today’s world. Even though there has been growth in Africa – where kids still watch almost every day- don’t count on that as being enough exposure to help you grow your business!
Social Media
The following is a breakdown of social media usage in Africa by region as of January 2021. In the Northern African regions, 45% out all residents use social media while these figures are 41% and 39%, respectively for Southern Africa and Western Africa. (source: statista)
North Africans have more access to internet than their counterparts in other parts of the continent which reflects why they enjoy greater percentages on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter among others. This does not mean that there has been no growth however with numbers climbing up from just 4-5%.
In my experience in around 2013, Egypt had a very strong appeal for Facebook, as a lof of people liked to receive a recommendation from their friends.
Get to know the local market
Try to understand the local market, who are your competitors, what are they selling, how they are pushing their products, what can you learn from them.
If you are an ecommerce platform get in contact with local distributors who will have the experience in the market,
This is why if you make a product with such features and release it into the market there will be counterfeits of your product that pop up all over the place which can have an adverse effect on sales for both parties involved – but one way to mitigate this risk is through local distributors who know their territory better than anyone else because they live there or do business daily within these communities.
Pirate copies may be cheaper than what’s being sold by legitimate vendors (although sometimes very high quality) so instead of fighting them, use local distributors as partners to sell some version at even lower prices without infringing upon intellectual property rights while still making money off each sale.
Challenges of Market Research in Africa
The challenges of market research in Africa are vast and complex, with many factors preventing the successful completion of a study. The African continent is made up of 54 nations that each have their own unique set or customs when it comes to commerce. This creates an additional layer for researchers trying to understand consumer preferences across borders; additionally, per capita GDP remains one-fifth less than other regions which means most consumers don’t yet purchase as frequently so there’s not enough data collected on them by companies who might be using more traditional methods such as surveys and focus groups.
Communication accessibility
Mobile phone and internet access across Africa is varied. While both basic mobile penetration rates, as well as smartphone penetration are growing among wealthier urban populations, in rural areas such mobility can be limited by various factors including distance to a fixed line network or availability of electricity necessary for charging electronics. Accessibility also varies greatly depending on the population being studied due to differences in economic status; richer countries have much higher Internet usage than poorer ones because online education systems are more prevalent there.
Number of Languages in each countries
The vast number of languages in Africa can make research difficult. However, this diversity also provides an opportunity for new discovery and understanding that would otherwise be lost if data is collected from just one source or language group. To overcome these challenges market researchers must employ a variety of methods to ensure the most accurate representation possible. An example here is in some market for example Nigeria, the BBC has understood the opportunity and has a site BBC pidgin English, and also covers Hausa.
Opportunities for Market Research in Africa
Information about what is happening in Africa for the fast-moving consumer goods industry can be hard to come by. Still, getting a full picture of this landscape would not be easy so companies should concentrate on specific countries and regions where they are conducting business such as Kenya which has some unique market dynamics. One thing that researchers need to keep in mind when going into markets like these is that it’s important research how people buy things instead of just surveying them since buying behavior may differ from their attitudes towards brands or products.
Audience Targeting
For research purposes, Africa is too broad to be a single population. Researchers would need to identify the specific country or region and then focus on that area for their study instead of trying to cover all countries in one experiment. If someone wants to conduct broader studies they should make sure there are enough subjects from different areas so as not just get results at random due simply because it’s easy without considering other factors such as culture or continent size.
Local expertise
Hiring local experts is a smart investment for any company conducting market research in Africa. Local knowledge of the country that can be extremely valuable when researching in your target countries, and often results with more accurate information due to being familiar with the region’s culture.
Conclusion
One of the best ways to market in Africa is by being local. Understanding the culture and developing a strategy that supports this will help you be successful with marketing there, regardless if your products or services are natively from Africa or not. In addition, making sure your website loads quickly has proven time and again to increase conversion rates on any site worldwide — especially for sites hosted in countries where internet speeds can be quite slow. There are many more tips we could provide here but these two seem to stand out as some of the most important ones when it comes to African Marketing. If you have experience working within this area, please let us know what other tips would work well for those looking at marketing their product/service over there!