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Hello and welcome to the show. Before we begin, apologies because today is one of those rowdy Saturday mornings. So there will be some interruptions during today's recording. Now today, the question that we're going to tackle is how to stay ahead of the curve and the concern behind the question is around the emerging trends so that we can future proof your approach when it comes to growing your business in sales. So that's just me summarizing the question basically now, why is this a relevant topic for today?
It is a relevant 1 because customers expectations are constantly changing. And then of course, you know, technology, ChatGPT, you know, blah, blah, blah. So with all these changes, people feel or rather people are concerned that it has an impact on our traditional sales and business tactics. OK, well this is a little warning that I'd like to give at this stage. So yes, changes in customers expectations, changes in technology impacts the way that we sell, but it only impacts the way we sell on a tactical level,
but not on a principled level. So the principles for sales and business success will always remain the same. So long as the fundamentals remain the same, the principles will always remain valid. So business principles, sales principles are always valid. What changes are the tactical applications because the tactical applications are time bound and change according to the context that we're in. For those of you who've been listening to the podcast for a while, remember that there's a distinction between strategy and between tactics.
So strategy is where we're heading. This is where we want to go. Tactics, those are the everyday one-on-one single things that we do to move that whole thing forward. So the principles are from are from a strategic level, things will always remain the same. From a tactical level, the applications are always going to change. Now let me give you one example. We should always respond timely to our customers. That is a business principle.
It was the same in the Roman Empire. It's going to be the same, or rather it was the same in the age of the empire, the the English Empire, and it's also the same now that we are living in the age of the American Empire. Now I know that's something controversial to say, but for all intents and purposes, let's just say we're living in the American Empire right now. So, but any business person that has lived in any of these ages had that as a growing principle that you should always respond timely to customers because it shows regard for your customer.
It shows you being customer centric. And also because eventually, even if you're a pioneer in your business space, eventually there's competition and you need something else to help you stand apart from the crowd. So respond in a timely manner, be customer centric. That is a business principle that has always been there. Now this is how the tactics change with the advent of technology. So in the era, in the era of postal only service, back in the time of the English empire, you know, with the United African Company and the United Indian Company and all those other conglomerates that they were throwing up at the time, during that time when the prevailing technology was at the Postal Service, timely response could have meant days or maybe weeks when we're talking about postal.
OK. In fact, I should say timely response would have been weeks, maybe even months because days or weeks. That was back when I was a kid in the 80s. So yes, back then in secondary school, if I wrote a letter to my pups back at home, it would take him about two weeks to get the letter. So, and, you know, now we're thinking even longer than that. And you catch my drift. So in the era of postal only service, respond timely to your customers means get back to them in a month, that sort of thing.
We move beyond that and then we get to the era of analogue telephones. Now in this case, get back to your customers might mean maybe a day because of course your customer might call in the morning. It's analogue. You're not with a mobile phone. Your secretary takes the call, she makes a note. Eventually you come back into the office and then and then you know, you call the customer later maybe the next day or something like that.
That is acceptable. That is a timely response because all we have are analogue telephones that are fixed to the wall, chain to your desk, you know, blah, blah, blah. Then we move beyond that and then the fax machine is invented. So timely response to your customer now means maybe hours because somebody can type out something, pick up the fax machine, do that call thing, it sends over. There's a document you can look at, annotate, you know,
whatever, make your recommendations and then send back. So you can see that as technology is changing, what it means to respond in a timely manner seems to be changing. Well, the principle is the same and the principle is always there. Always respond timely to your customers. Then we move to the era of mobile phones and social media. And can you guys see the evolution now? So now timely response, maybe it means now, maybe minutes,
because in theory it's a mobile phone, it's with you all the time. You're already logged into your Twitter account. So if somebody sends you a nasty tweet at 9:01, it might be reasonable to assume that somebody should respond by, let's say 950 latest. If it reaches 11 o'clock 12:00, maybe that's too late. So you can see that the principle doesn't change. Respond timely to your customers. But then the application of that principle will change whether you're living in the age of the Postal Service, whether you're living in the age of the analogue telephone, whether you're living in the day of facts, or whether you're living in the age of mobile phones and social media.
So that is the guiding light that I want to advocate for you guys to adopt. So stop being like all these people who get nervous every single time something comes up. So, you know, social media is becoming a thing. All of a sudden people are getting nervous like, oh, things are changing, things are changing. Now are we going to cope? Are we going to cope? No, things are not changing. Things are still the same. The contextual applications might be changing, but the principle is still the same.
If you take the old principle and try to apply to how you run Business Today, you'll be fine. It's the same thing with AI. Oh, AI. Things are changing. Things are changing. Things are changing. Well, yeah, maybe. But for the purposes of business and serving our customers, the principle will remain the same. AI will mean that we have to apply things contextually in a different way. But the overriding principles are always going to be the same.
And that's the reason why on this podcast I keep advocating for system, system LED thinking, frameworks, principles, those sorts of things. Because that is what is going to be your guide. If you're always thinking about tactics, then you're going to be jumping from one thing to another. So if it's Postal Service and you're thinking tactics, you'll be jumping from one thing to another. Then when the analogue telephone is ring is invented, then you you have to now start looking for a new tactic.
And then the fax machine is here over a new tactic and then the era of social media or a new tactic and then the inventor. What's it called? Not alternate reality. What's it called? You know this immersive technology where you put on the VR headset and you log into the metaverse and you just go into constant, you just be changing tactics, tactics, tactics, tactics and giving yourself a headache. Just figure out the principles that are good for all time and then try and apply it regardless of whatever the changes are in society or in technology.
So that is my big caveat regarding those sorts of questions for those of you who have those kinds of anxieties. Now the key trends to watch out for and adopt when it comes to, you know, all these changes and things we need to watch out for is the rise of the informed buyer. And that's because now buyers have access to more information than ever. So in the past, let's say you sold mobile phones. Yeah, let's go back to the good old days when mobile phones are just getting into the country in Nigeria.
That was during OBJ Obas and just time. So back then I was in yeah, I was in uni. I was in uni back then during Objs time, so mobile phones are coming in. You want to buy a mobile phone? We didn't have access to information. It was all brand new. But now there's access to information on their websites. People can go online and check which one is 5G, which one is 4G, which one is 7 inch screen? Which one is 8 inch screen?
Which one is Fold? Which one is this? Which one is that? Which one has this applications? Which one is Android Go? Which one is Android Premium? Which one is Android this Which one is Samsung that you know, there's all you know, all that information is readily available now. So that is something that impacts the way that we sell because in the past, during OB JS time when it came to mobile phones, if your job was selling mobile phones, you had to do a lot of providing information.
So oh, Madam, this is Samsung blue face. The difference between Samsung blue face and Nokia 3310 is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You have that conversation, you get Madam to buy the blue face. So, but now it's different. Now we have to go beyond providing information. We have to provide insights and not just give product pitches. So it's now it's now it goes beyond just, oh, Madam, this is blue face.
This is 3310. The difference in specs is Internet Protocol this and that that, that. But you actually have a need to have a conversation with Madam to figure out what she wants, what she needs. Is there a problem she's trying to solve with the mobile phone purchase? Try and source out. Is she buying this thing for status or is she a much more of a functional user? And then you provide insights along the way to move the sale along.
So that's how we cope. Buyers are becoming much more informed. So trying to dazzle people with information now, it's not going to work anymore. So we have to be able to provide valuable insights about how we sell. And that's the reason why on the podcast, I advocate the approach that I do around qualification and discovery, asking questions about the person, asking questions about their vision, the problem that they're trying to solve, know who they are,
know where they're trying to head to. You'll be able to provide insights and guide them along to the right purchase. So yeah, that's it. If you don't adopt this approach, you're just going to be making product pitches in the dark. And then that doesn't help. Then another rising trend, the power, personalization, this whole thing of one-size-fits-all. You know, that is dead. Of course, everybody talks about Henry Ford because, you know, in the beginning it was famous that all his cars were going to come in one colour, you know, which was black.
So one side fits all. It's dead. Cars now come in different colours. I mean, I've seen, I've seen puke green. That's what my wife calls it. And I'm wondering like puke green. Like I've never seen puke that has green in it. So there's puke green, there's Chingon pink or Chingon pink, as my wife would say. Let's see what else. I mean, like I've seen all kinds of colours, even some fluorescent looking kinds of things. So things are personalized to different tastes.
And now let's look at toothpaste. So back in my day, there was only one kind of toothpaste. Well, not only one kind, but like there was close up, there was Mcleans and there was what else close up Mcleans. I can't remember another, the third one, but there was only one kind of toothpaste. So the kind of toothpaste my father used was the same kind of toothpaste that I used. So everybody used the same kind of toothpaste.
But now things are different. There's close up for adults, there's close up for babies, there's close up for smokers. So there's not one-size-fits-all anymore. Things have to now be personalized. So it's toothpaste, yes, but the toothpaste should be personalized for adults, should be personalized for baby, should be personalized for smokers. Let's see, OK, There's even close up for sensitive teeth. So you can see that there's some form of personalization or customization or whatever going on.
So in delivering our products and our services, we need to look for ways of getting data. Data just means information basically. It doesn't necessarily have to mean numbers. So I have to look for numbers. So I'm sorry, information. So we can personalize how we talk to people, how we reach out to people, how we deliver content to them, our communication styles and then also to tailor the products and services to them in particular.
So how to get this data is you should always be talking to your customers and asking them questions. So yes, that can be e-mail, can be SMS, it can be Instagram DMS, or it can be customer service or on site visits or whatever it is. But just take the frame of mind that you should always be engaged in conversation. So don't be emailing at people, Smsing at people or Instagramming DM me, sorry, Instagram DM ING at people.
We should be trying to engage them in a conversation because you say A, they say B, and you can read into in B lines and figure out C. And then you seek for feedback and you find out that in fact, what they meant was D. And that helps to tailor your product and personalize your outreach. Then automation, yes, automation, AI, you know, people get nervous, things are changing, things are changing. Embrace automation. Yes, it will help you to streamline repetitive tasks because repetitive tasks, it takes up a lot of time and that leaves you to do the high value stuff.
However, automation doesn't have to be high tech because there's one kind of automation ish in a sense that's available to all of us, which is copy and paste plus editing. That saves a lot of time. In fact, I prefer copy and paste plus edit rather than trusting that the automatic script that comes in your WhatsApp messages or your Instagram DM is going to solve the whole situation. So that's why I keep advocating over here that, you know, take your computer, hook up your WhatsApp account, your Instagram accounts, you know, so you can type on the keyboard, you can copy paste edit, you know, move quickly or for those of you who like to work from so excuse me from mobile phones like I do,
then get an external keyboard. So copy, paste, edit will save you a whole lot of time. We need to do all of this first before we can come up with all these automatic scripts that will cater to all kinds of situations. Because if you're using automation so that you don't have to talk to customers personally, I'll tell you like you're really failing. You're creating attrition and you're creating friction in the process.
Let me give you an example. Recently, I was trying to pick up delivery from my wife. My wife is a fish person. Me, I don't eat fish. I don't like fish at all. You've been listening to the show for a very long time. You know, I'm not a fish person, but my wife is a fish person. And excuse me, I just got paid recently for something and I figured, oh, it's a big deal. She hasn't had fish in a while. She saw some of the stuff from her vendor.
They were advertising it. It looked like the prices were good. And I was like, no problem, just place the order. She said she was like, but when it comes to delivery cost, the delivery costs are high and blah, blah, blah. And I will. And I had a meeting with the customer, I think about three or four hours earlier and the place was not fire away. I was like, hey, these places are just 15 minutes apart, Just place the order.
I'll go for my meeting when I'm done, I'll pass through the woman's place and then I'll pick it up. So no problem, we'll place the order then. I tried using the pin that the person had on the the mapping on their Instagram page and it led me to the wrong address. I tried calling this Madam, Madam is not answering. Calling the other numbers there, the person is not answering. Sending messages on WhatsApp. All I was getting on WhatsApp was all those response messages and then on social media automated response messages, you know, the usual bland bot messages that they get.
Welcome, your business is important to us. How can we help you? Select from the responses below, press one for this. But you know all those stupid stuff. But in this situation, there is no option for I can't find your office. That thing was not in the menu option. So you can see that this was a lot of attrition and friction in the process. Luckily for this woman, and This is why I talk about the beauty of being a monopoly because of the kind of things she deals in,
in Abuja. So I just in Abuja, really she's the only one. That's why she's famous. So me trying to pick up the order, taking me close to an hour, 30 minutes because I can't find their place. I have to wait for somebody to call me back. We've already paid. This is something that people will put up with. But imagine what happens if next year there's a competitor who is able to match these women's prices and who is able to get all the fancy stuff she can get.
That is fish plus crab plus octopus plus shark fin plus this plus that. Imagine if there are two or three of them and this is how you're treating your customers. I mean, trust Nigerian, Nigerians. Now, of course, people will just switch on. Like we can't put up with this bullshit after all. Let me try this woman and then you try somebody else. But for now, we worked for her. She's the only person. So she'll be fine until competition comes in, and then she'll have to adopt her approach.
So this is what I mean by if you're trying to use automation because you don't want to talk to people, you're creating all kinds of friction in the process. All kinds. So let somebody be available to pick up the phone, direct the inquiry accordingly. Let's see what else. This is where copy and paste comes in handy. Eventually I spoke to someone and looks like this is a problem that they've been having before. So let's only pick up the phone sharply and and say oh OK,
sorry, this is the problem. Sorry, I will send you the right address. Right now you drop the phone and all you do is control, copy, control paste, plop and then you send. It's that easy. Shop, shop. So let's stop using automation because we don't want to talk to people. Automation is meant to help us and our staff. It is not meant to remove us and our staff from the conversation all together. Then another trend. People are looking at the video,
the video advantage. Video content is king. Yes, you can use video for testimonials, product demos, social proof, all kinds of things. Also, videos seem to have high engagement time, and that's good for the algorithms on social media. And that is something that I've learned from working with a client right now because they do lots of video content. And I was curious, like video, of course, video takes time. So it's like my video and I
listen to them and I've seen the results like OK, yeah, video does have high engagement time and it's good for the algorithm. But for video, does that mean that we have to everything has to be high production value, You know, top of the line camera, top of the line lighting, microphone, blah, blah, blah. That's the whole topic for another day. But let me give you guys a clue. All my responses, my responses be that it's contextual.
It depends. But the high end stuff might not be required all the time. There are situations where mobile phone will be fine. Like it's no secret that I do my recording on my phone all the time and I can recall from anywhere, which is the reason why we keep getting all those interruptions, you know, people walking by and gossiping or maybe cows in the background because, you know, Abuja is not becoming cow central and every day you go out to see cows crossing the road and stuff like that.
So yeah, it's contextual. You don't need to have high end production all the time so long as your message is on point. Let's see. OK. Well, there's so many things you can keep going on and on, but let me just jump to this one real quick because we're at 20 minutes customer experience. So yeah, like I've been hinting from the beginning of the podcast and now customer experience now reigns supreme. So sales is no longer just about closing deals.
We have to prioritize long term relationships and to exceed our customer expectations. If you're a monopoly like this fish woman in Abuja, nobody else does what you do at the prices that you do. Then to help customer experience, people don't have a choice. If they want to get fresh octopus, they have to call you because there's no other person in Abuja who delivers fresh octopus. But then if there are three, four other people who deliver fresh octopus in Abuja, then you're in trouble.
Now customer service becomes very important because that's going to be the distinguishing factor because after all you have fresh octopus. Woman A, woman B has fresh octopus, woman C has fresh octopus. The prices are not going to be different, not that much anyway. So I don't eat octopus. So for those who like octopus, this is just me guessing. So, so let's say octopus is is one first woman sell they had 1007 per kilo.
The other woman sells it at 18 per kilo. Another parent sells IT165 per kilo. The difference is not much. There is not much really. So other things like delivery time, how polite are you guys? The packaging of the octopus, does it come neat or when it comes, does it have octopus blood dripping from the nylon? You know, all these sorts of things become important. So customer experience becomes really, really important.
By the way, those are you people that like to eat octopus. What do you see in octopus? Just curious Anyway, Yeah, so customer experience really important because repeat business referrals, that's the secret sauce to growing your business. If you want people to keep buying your octopus and your calamari and all those fancy seafood stuff, you get the profit when people come back month after month, week after week. So somebody buys octopus from you in January, in February they buy calamari, and then in March they buy shark fin and, you know, on and on and on and on and on.
And by the way, for those of you who think I'm just making stuff up, you know, no, I'm not. My wife is a fish person and trust me, there are people in Abuja who eat this kind of stuff. So I know for sure that there are definitely people in Lagos and Port Harcourt who eat this kind of stuff. So yeah, repeat business referrals. That's how your business is going to grow. You'll make sales and marketing a whole lot easier.
You'll make your business to live longer, but you're not going to know your customers expectations. So you're not going to exceed your customers expectations unless you know what the expectations are in the 1st place. That's why I keep saying you should always be talking to your customers. I hope you guys can see the thread running through about how we should always be talking to our customers. If you can't see the thread,
Noahana, connect with me. Let's have a chat. And don't fear, no matter what comes in the future or the changes, so long as you stay informed and you adapt your approach to these emerging trends, you'll be fine. You can future proof your business. Just remember, keep to the principles and you'll be able to adapt and you'll be fine. But in case you haven't noticed, these trends are not just trends for today in 2024 as at the date of this recording.
Because the time will come in 2036 or 2052 or whatever and the trend will still be the same #1 customers will always keep getting better educated. So this whole thing of customers are now better educated is not a new thing. In 1980, customers were getting better educated. In 2020, customer getting better educated. In 3054, customers will also be getting better educated. Then customers always want more personalization and more customization.
It's not new. This is not a modern thing. In 1976, customers wanted personalization and customization. It's just that you know the flavours, the palettes, the things you could customize. The options are not much today. In 2024, it's much. In 3026, there will be more, but customers will always want more personalization and more customization. That's because people get more sophisticated, they get more money. There's more purchasing power.
That's what drives it. Then customer experience will always matter. It has always mattered. Back in the days when our parents were growing up in the villa and there was only one butcher. Yes, when you're the only butcher in town, no problem. You can treat your people anyhow. You can't even sell rotten meat. People don't have a choice. They want meat. They will come to you eventually. The second butcher shows up in town, that evil guy shows up and he opens another butcher shop.
Now customer service becomes important because there is competition. Competition always eventually opens up shop. And because of that, customer service is important. We're looking for different ways to distinguish our business and that has always happened in human experience, whether we're talking about 1900 or 1976 or 2010 or 3052. So all these people running around saying that these are the new new found trends of the day or fads of the day.
And in a sense they're correct. But to be honest, it's just the way things have always been. Customers are always getting educated. They will always want personalization and customization. They will always want customer experience. It will always be there. So it's nothing new. So that's all for today, folks. Please connect with me on WhatsApp. The phone number is 08064662140. The country code is +234. For those of you who are not Nigerian, also connect with me on LinkedIn.
My name is Tavishima Aydi, I'm the host of the show, and you can confirm the spelling of my name and e-mail address from the link. We're currently listening to this episode. Thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.