Unlocking the Nigerian Market: The Customer Education Key

Hello and welcome to the show. Today we're back on the challenges of selling your fintech ideas in Nigeria. And I want to look at another problem that you fintech boys and girls are going to face and that is the problem of customer education and digital literacy. OK, Now the idea behind this is you are trying to do something in a context that is not to tech savvy. Well, First off, The thing is the ideas that are involved in fintechs all the way up to what's that word, Gosh, I can't remember that word.

Anyway, fintechs, Web 3, there's a third word I'm trying to remember the third class of people that I usually razz on. I can't remember now anyway, but you get my point. There's a whole spectrum of ideas that are typically very complex to explain anyway when you're looking at things from a technical point of view, which is the reason why I've always said on the podcast that you're better off using metaphors, Similes. Look for much more simpler ways of explaining the idea and also talking in terms of benefits that people are going to derive from using your fintech, you know, looking for simpler ways to explain it because these ideas are complex.

So in order to get your thing off the ground, there has to be a certain level of customer education that you get involved in and bringing people up on their digital literacy skills. So the aim of getting involved in these sorts of things would be to promote fintech adoption as a whole in Nigeria. And that, of course, will make it easier to sell your your services, your app, your website, your whatever it is that you're setting now, the stage of execution.

OK. Where this, where this comes in handy is where, you know, you've raised, yeah, you know, your funds. Let's say you're one of those guys or girls that will read about on the Internet, you know, on the tech blogs where raise millions of dollars for their fintech ideas. So I'm talking to people who have reached this stage of execution. You've raised your millions of dollars. Now these are the things to put your millions of dollars to use to to put it to good use.

So it's not just about taking the millions of dollars and then getting yourself a new apartment, what else? Getting a fancy office in lucky phase one and all that. So these are also good things that you can take the millions of dollars and and put them to good use. Now, First off, you have to pursue strategies for content marketing. Now the reason why this is important, remember, because I said you're trying to sell some very complex ideas and use case scenarios in an environment where lots of people are not that digitally literate or not that tech savvy.

And like I confessed over here on the show a couple of episodes ago, even for those of us who are fairly tech savvy, there are a couple of people like me, for instance, who are not going anywhere because we're just going to stick to our traditional banks. But I also explained in that episode about how you can address some of those concerns that some of us conservative folks have. But we really can't get away from the fact that for those of you who are trying to staff in tech ideas, you do have to engage in some sort of education around your product, your service, your idea.

And content marketing is not a bad way to go. No content marketing. OK, let me not bother defining content marketing. Let's just go straight to the features. So content marketing, you're using blogs, you're using infographics, maybe you're creating podcasts or you're appearing on podcasts like this one for money transfer. I think cheaper. I think it's cheaper. I, I heard about them on the well, I had seen their, their billboards, you know, with Bonoboy and all that in Abuja and then also came across the advertisements on I think it's the I said what I said podcast.

Is this really Nigerian popular podcast. It's supposed to be about the millennial experience. They're these two ladies, pretty cool girls, but it's a just podcast more or less. So if you're the kind of person who is only looking for business content on podcast, then don't listen to the show. But if you need a nice podcast, you know, to step down because you want to listen to two millennials moan about the work experience, maybe business,

maybe relationships, maybe politics. It's a free Wheeling kind of podcast. Then you can check that out. I said what I said. So, yeah. So cheaper. Put advertisements on Nacho, and then you can also put out videos. So those are the sorts of things that are involved in content marketing. And the idea behind content marketing is that you're going to put out content features, things that people find useful and valuable. It's an excuse for you to remain top of mind with your audience instead of only putting out messages all the time.

That says buy from me, buy from me, buy from me. Now, One example of content marketing is this blog, sorry, not blog, this podcast, you know, that I put out on a weekly basis. So I'm currently in your earholes talking about all things sales, marketing, business development and those sorts of issues. So it's a good way for me to remain top of mind with you and my potential customers around these sorts of things so that when people are ready to pull the trigger when they feel like they need a sales coach or the one, the consultant to look over this aspect of their strategy or that aspect of their strategy and the person that they're going to call.

So that's the idea behind the content marketing strategy. So for those of you who fintech guys and girls, you raise millions of dollars. This is where you should start throwing your money behind. So blog posts, hope you guys have a team that is putting out blog posts on your website. Or maybe what's that word, you know, when you write A blog post, but the blog post is intended for for another, another publication? Syndication, yes.

Syndication, yes. So you should have a team that is either publishing your blog post, you know, on your own assets or you're syndicating blog posts to go up on other places. So let's say you put out your blog post and you happen to get your blog post on TechCrunch. Apart from TechCrunch, is this Nigerian one? What's it called? Tech tech, something I can't remember, but there's sort of like a Nigerian equivalent of tech crunch.

So I've done my research before I started. OK, but you get the whole point. So the blogs should be up on websites that you own or you syndicate it across other platforms so you can find other readers. And the same thing with infographics. Infographics, basically it's just where you have data, photos, things like that, with information at the bottom that is trying to pass across information in an easier way than using only text.

Then of course, like I said, podcast, that's an option that's available if you guys are bold enough, brave enough. For some reason, lots of people are afraid of podcasts. Then there's also videos that you guys can put out and some fintechs already do that. So if you check YouTube, you can already see some videos there above found. I was talking about who we are. This is what we do. This is a problem that we want to solve.

The last one that I saw not fintech related, OK, well it does have some fintech aspects, but this was in the, this is in the real estate space for a company raise millions of dollars. Well, at the time I think was a three M was $3,000,000 that they had raised. And I think the operations is out of I think Nigeria and maybe Kenya. I think the websites, you have landlords on it, you have tenants on it, you have regular people who want to rent on it.

And it's supposed to just make the whole process of finding real estate easier, paying rent easier, you know, stuff like that. So that's the fintech component. But they put out really good video on YouTube saying this is who we are, this is what we do, this is how far we've come, This is how many people that we have on our platform. If you're on this platform, these are the benefits that you can derive. If you are a renter and you're strapped for cash, this is how we can help you pay rent.

If you're a landlord and you're on this platform, this is how we can help you verify who credible renters are, you know, blah, blah, blah, stuff like that. So you fintech guys and girls, give that a shot. Content marketing and your content marketing can be not just around these ideas that I've discussed right now, but can also go beyond, you know, basic concepts because since we're talking fintechs solving financial problems or problems in the financial space, you guys can build your stuff around content on savings or budgeting or investing or money transfer,

you know, stuff like that. So if you're like Cheaper or one of these other fintechs that is in the money transfer space, oh, by the way, Cheaper has not given me money. You know, I'm not promoting them. The thing is just that I'm real conservative when it comes to these sorts of things. I wasn't going to try any of them. I saw the Burner Boy advert billboard and then I heard about them on. I said what I said at the time,

I was thinking of monetizing the podcast to see how I could accept donations from listeners. so-called up my brother who's in the UK. I'm like this one I have in mind. Let's just test out this platform. Let me see how easy it is for me to send money and how easy it is for me to receive money. So I downloaded the app and then did the verification thing. You know, know your customer, customer verification, send money now was Valhalla, receive money now was Valhalla, customer service was Valhalla zero.

Nobody responded to our text messages and so no text messages to our emails. So I'm not promoting cheaper and I'm not saying they're bad. The only reason why I mention them is because really they're the only ones that I've tried. But there are other names out there. Chipper is the only one that I tried. So mainly I'm not saying they're bad. Maybe, you know, my brother and I were just unlucky. You know, we signed up when service was done or something like that.

Why? Let me move on. So where was I? OK, yes, what I was trying to illustrate was this. So folks like Chipper, they actually can be making content around money transfer. So what are the reasons that people transfer money? Typically, you're trying to help family back home. And there are some people, like one of my classmates who is based in Atlanta right now, who has a bunch of charities in Nigeria that she is supporting around female issues and the care of the elderly.

So it would not be out of place if you're one of these cheaper type organizations, fintechs that are involved in money transfer. You see someone like my classmate who's involved in this sort of thing and then, yeah, you start writing about, you start supporting her 'cause writing about those sorts of things because there's a Nexus there. This person is in Atlanta raising funds and then sending the money back home here to Nigeria and with the current CBN

restrictions and, you know, payments and it has just become a nightmare. I don't know why it's so difficult just to send money out of Nigeria or to send money in. I'm sure if you economics people sit down and explain it to us in the common sense way, it will make sense why you guys have to make it so difficult. But I really missed the days when it was as simple as you go into the bank, you fill the form, you give them the Nara,

the person in the UK will call you up and say, hey, bro, thanks, I received the money. Or the other way around, the person goes does the whatever they need to do on the UK and and then your account is credited here and they can call up and say, hey, Edmor, thanks, I received the money. So cheaper people, you can liass with other people like that and start talking about the benefits of money, benefits of money transfer and how that changes lives and how that changes communities.

And then things of that nature, so you can do all these sorts of things around content marketing. How does it serve the overall aim? You can see that it'll be educating people and making people more literate around digital issues. So instead of just billboard with Boner Boy, people will see and be like, oh, OK, that is what cheaper actually does. Those are what this whole fintech thing is about. It's about making it easy to send money so that I don't need to know somebody in central bank or I don't need to pally up with somebody in Axis Bank or whatever.

It can be as easy as I get my phone, I do this, the person in the UK gets their phone, they do that and then next thing, voila, money shows up in my bank account. Then something that you guys should consider in the fintech space 'cause I noticed that a lot of what you guys do is is in English. In fact, the all the stuff I've found so far is in English. But I would like to recommend that if we're talking about mass adoption, maybe you think that boys and girls should consider translating into local languages.

Maybe it might help you reach a wider audience. You know, consider because in the telephony space, it's something, it's a, it's a, it's part of their tactic that all the major companies have have used. Like when? Back when I was in the OK, this was after uni, I think after my uni, I think it was, gosh, I've forgotten the name of the company, but I think it was Etisalat. I mean it was the the company that this musician bank, EW

Bank, Willy Wellington, the one that he became a brand ambassador for, I can't remember. It was Etisalat or Nymobile or Abby. Is it the same company? But anyway, so it was, I remember that back then they had a real big push 'cause I was serving in, after law school, I served in Kano. So, you know, I was around Abuja, Kano, these areas, I noticed that they had a huge push around, you know, with Hausa campaigns trying to get the, trying to get the, trying to get what's that word, you know, adoption for adoption for the company, you know, in that,

in that part of the world. And I don't speak house anyway. But for the folks who do understand how say you know, the place where I was squatting, it kind of 'cause I didn't have my own, I didn't have my own. I didn't get a house as in a, a friend or for that squad at his place. So, you know, I just did. So you know, people are talking about how good the campaigns were, like there wasn't even a general house that they were using.

They were using a house that was particular to different environments. So basically different adverts who run in Kaduna, different adverts who run in Kano, even in Kano, in different parts of Kano, different kinds of adverts would run. So you guys in the fintech space, you can also consider something like that for some of these, your campaigns, translate them into local languages. Perhaps you could gain wider audience and then more adoption.

Then let's see what else. OK, Other strategies that I've spoken about in the past, partnering with influencers to promote content also to reach a wider audience. Yes, I've already mentioned about I said what I said podcast and how cheaper had a couple of adverts there. But instead of just money transfer advertisements, you can go beyond that because and I said what I said, they have an agony aunt segment. Agony aunt basically is where people just call in to say to say, you know, I have a problem.

Can you help me? You know, that's the part of that's the part of the show where people call in and say like, oh, I'm in love with two men. I was dating both of them behind their back. I'm pregnant now. I don't know who the father is, please help me or whatever, you know, those sorts of things or anyway, you get the point. People have problems, personal problems, emotional problems, they call in. So that whole, not whole thing,

it's just called the agony agony aunt. So they have an agony aunt episode, you know, so perhaps if you're one of these fintech people, money transfer people like Chipper and the rest of them, you could have a segment if you're partnering with these kinds of influencers, where if the question is related to meeting savings goals or investing goals or solving budgeting problems, you know, personal issues that can tie into these sorts of things.

You know, perhaps you can have one of your company, one of your sales people on the show, you know, talking about how your app can solve some of these problems. So it's just a, I'm just freestyling here. So don't take my don't take this to be a golden recommendation or something. I'm just freestyling about how you guys can look for different ways of educating the public and making people familiar with who you are, what you're doing, and getting the whole digital literacy game up a notch.

Then I've also spoken about local partnerships. OK. I spoke about the one with the app that was partnering, partnering with Sterling Bank for federal government grants. And OK, so I forgot to mention in all the episode, you can also partner with mobile network operators because MTN has this Momo thing going, going on at the moment. So that's also an example of fintech because you're using mobile telephony money wallets.

Basically it's just money transfer using your phone, although I don't know how that works. I don't have an MTN line, so I haven't tried that out. Then I think with Kenya, is it MM Pesa or something like that is really big in that part of the world. I don't know anything about it. I just know that back when my wife was still running her post grad studies, you know, she, she had a Kenyan roommate. And so, you know, just just conversation.

I used to come up stuff like that because M Pesa or is it M Pesa? I can't remember what it's called anyway, but it's really big in that part of the world. We didn't have our own equivalent. So maybe now MTN and Momo, maybe that's our own equivalent, all those sorts of things. So fintech people can partner with mobile network operators just like in Ethiopia. I know that some mobile companies in the past, some fintech companies partnered with mobile telephone networks to have some money water thing going on and also so that farmers could check prices on commodity exchanges and then things like that.

It's really wild the kind of services that you can provide when you guys partner with mobile companies. Then of course, partnering with microfinance banks will help you. It's it's just same thing as partnering with the banks basically that will like the Sterling Bank partnership for the federal government funds. So you expand your reach, you gain new customers, you leverage another person's infrastructure and also leverage their customer base.

So this is not the end all and be all. And because my own area of expertise is personal selling and I'm sure you've noticed that there are lots of ideas here that we have discussed that are not directly related to sales or selling, but there are some ideas that you can try out and they are good ideas. OK. Well, it's a good approach to adopt because these are the sorts of things that make selling easier. When you do business development campaigns and you execute them well, when you run marketing campaigns, marketing activities and you do them well, it makes selling easier because the next time your sales person walks up to a potential customer to try and explain that, OK, This Is Us, this is what we do, It's an easier, smoother conversation because at least people have heard of it before.

Now back to this Momo thing, the Momo that's MTNMTN Nigeria, the mobile payment thing. Now, I'm not an MTN user, but The thing is because Momo MTN has been and Momo, they've been advertising everywhere on radio, Momo on TV, Momo on billboards, Momo, in fact, in my neighborhood, the shopping all, I call it. So I say the estate shop. Yeah, the estate shop. There's a huge Momo bought there. So the next time I'm chilling,

just minding my business and somebody walks up to me and the person starts the conversation like, oh, I'm an MTN sales Rep, I'm a Momo. Something, something, something, something. However the conversation goes, at least I have heard of Momo and MTN before. So it shouldn't it, it shouldn't be a conversation that would be too hard to have. So that's why these ideas are important. So these kind of marketing activities, content marketing strategies, public relations strategies, whatever it is that you want to call it, they help to wet the ground and make it easier for the salesperson who comes along in the future to push your fintech ideas.

So that's all for today folks. Remember to connect with me. The phone number is 08064662140. The country code is +234. If you're not Nigerian, you can hit me up SMS, phone call or WhatsApp Telegram. I might respond next week but WhatsApp definitely will respond tomorrow. Then I'll confirm you on LinkedIn on socials. My name is Tavi Shimaidi, I'm the host of the show. You can confirm the spelling of my name from the link.

We're currently listening to this episode, so thanks for your time and attention. I will catch you guys at the next episode. I'll have to check my list of questions and see if we're done with challenges of fintech in selling fintech ideas in Nigeria. I'd have to look for my list, but I think we should be done with it in another one or two episodes. Now, for those of you who've been listening to the last couple of episodes where I've been dealing with things fintech related, I'm bringing you ideas to the market.

If you found any of these things valuable and you know anybody who's in the fintech space, share a couple of the episodes with them, see if they might get some value out of it as well. So thanks for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.