Email Marketing

March 15, 2010 by 6 Comments

E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every e-mail sent to a potential or current customer could be considered e-mail marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to:

  • sending e-mails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers and to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business,
  • sending e-mails with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately,

(Source: Wikipedia)

Email Marketing is often ranked second only to search marketing when it comes to online marketing. If you are doing online marketing in any capacity then you need to incorporate email marketing.

This is all well and good but, sadly, in my experience I have not come across many Kenyan businesses that understand how to do email marketing the right way. Indeed many “email marketers” in Kenya are nothing more than spammers. Just last week I had a gentleman ask me, “How do you get emails of people working in large corporates?” The plan was to get those emails and then “market to them”. This is nothing but spamming.

To spam is to send unsolicited messages. They key concept of email marketing is to get permission to send emails to your audience. Spamming is wrong and illegal in some countries.

So, how do you do email marketing properly? I like to think of it as a three-step continuous process:

  1. It all begins by finding suitable email marketing software. This is software that you can use to manage your subscribers’ list(s) and which enables you to send emails on a large scale. You cannot use akina Gmail to send to more than a certain number of people at the same time. I recommend MailChimp. Websoft looks like a nice Kenyan alternative.
  2. Devise a strategy through which you will get people to give you their permission to send them emails. The most common and current way of doing this is to offer people something for free – but to get it, they need to give you their email address. Numerous internet marketers give away something like a free ebook, white paper, or report.
  3. Develop compelling, interesting and/or useful content and send it out to your subscribers. Make sure you do this very well: if need be hire a professional to do the email layout for you. Do not forget to include a call to action in your email.

As long as you keep on sending out wonderfully interesting/useful emails and keep on increasing your email subscribers, you will get results. It will not be long before you see your sales increase. Email marketing is powerful.

An emerging Kenyan variation to the above is sending your emails to the massively popular Kenyan Groups on Yahoo or Google such as Young Professionals. These groups communicate primarily by email and often include thousands of members. It is an easy way to reach a large number of people. However, some of these groups do charge for advertisements.

Whatever you do, do not spam. I keep on getting emails from sijui akina Mlalahoi or Baraza la Taifa and I have no idea how I got onto their lists. I don’t have to tell you what I think of such groups and the people behind them.

That’s it, you are ready to go and start email marketing. If you need any help, you can hire Like Chapaa to handle things for you.

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With:

Taxi Driver In India Uses Youtube to Find Customers

March 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

So, I read this over at Alootechie and felt that I had to share it with you, dear readers.

Apparently, Divesh Mishra, an Indian taxi driver was worried that his business was going down. This was in January 2008 when the Indian travel industry was experiencing a downturn. Divesh knew he had to do something to keep his business going.

“I wanted to advertise about my services but could not do that as I did not have much funds,” Mishra said. “This was the time when I met a friend from Singapore. He was one of my customers and I discussed my problems with him. He then suggested me to upload a video on YouTube. Though I knew about internet, I had never heard about YouTube before.” (Source)

The rest, as they say, is history. Divesh’s video has been viewed 24,000+ times and he reportedly gets hundreds of emails a week – from foreigners asking about his services for when they visit India. According to Mishra it was amazing to get such response and this made him understand the power of internet. “It was a wise decision as I eventually understood that I could not have reached those consumers if I had advertised on some other media. Internet helped me to reach out to foreign customers,” he said.

Embracing the internet changes lives, and businesses. What about you, though? What are you doing to tap onto the opportunities provided by the internet?

Filed Under: Internet Culture, Small Business Tagged With:

Outsourcing to India

March 6, 2010 by 8 Comments

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the noble cause of the Kenyan government to make Kenya an offshore outsourcing destination. Companies like Kencall are, currently, the face of these noble and valuable efforts. I have been thinking about Kenya as an outsourcing hub and I still wonder, can we really make it a reality? Yes, companies like Kencall do very well but will Kenya ever be as big as countries like India when it comes to offshore outsourcing? I think not.

Last week, I was talking to some people who are interested in starting an egg (mayai) business. They want to sell eggs on a large scale. Do you know it is cheaper to import eggs from Egypt than it is to produce them locally? And that’s just one product – pick any industry in this country and you will quickly realise that producing goods locally if often several times more expensive than it is to just import them. What does this mean for us, as a country wishing to grow our producing and manufacturing industries?

You would think that imported products are cheaper, but those that are locally manufactured are of a better quality, yes? Well, this may be true in some cases but more often than not, it is not. A trip to Nairobi’s industrial area would leave you shocked at just how much of what we consume locally is outsourced – from packaging material to the whole manufacturing process. The people who outsource would like to use Kenyan alternatives but it does not make business sense to do so. Why pay more for something of a lesser quality?

What about services? We’re good at that, at least, eh? Well, not really. Undoubtedly, we have a very educated and extremely skilled workforce. But, it is still cheaper to get things done in India, or elsewhere. Case in point: Kenyan ‘technology’ firms (software producers, web design, web development, etc etc) often require to hire additional programmers, designers, etc to handle small tasks. The local labour force is very well equipped to handle these tasks. However, the local labour force is also nearly five times more expensive than offshore (often Indian) options. Who would you choose to go with?

Now, this post is not meant to bash Kenya and Kenyans. I’m a Kenyan too. 🙂

I’m just simply wondering: how can we compete with India as an outsourcing destination when we ourselves outsource to India? As a people and as a nation we have to ask ourselves: what are we doing wrong? Why is it cheaper to import sofa sets from China (and taking shipping costs into account) than it is to make the sofa set locally? Why is Kenyan stuff so expensive? Can we ever compete with economies like India or China? I do not know the answers to these questions. Do you?

What I do know is that the following are some of the things we need to address:

  • The infrastructure in Kenya is good, but hardly good enough. We still have frequent power losses and water shortages, not to mention many other things
  • The cost of doing business in Kenya has to be brought down
  • Our mentality as a people needs to change. The average Kenyan businessman is greedy – he would much rather do one job for a profit of 50,000/- than 10 jobs for a profit of 25,000 each

What do you think?

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With:

How to Start and Build a Business With (Almost) No Money

February 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

At Like Chapaa, we come across all sorts of people who are looking to get ahead in life. Many of the people are people with small businesses or people trying to set up a business. Almost all of these people are people with big ideas but no funding – people who are starting, or running a business on a shoestring budget. These people can be called bootstrappers.

Are you a bootstrapper? Well, we have a treat for you today. We’re giving you Seth Godin’s book, The Bootstrapper’s Bible. You can download it below.

I read this book a few years ago and once again I reread it recently. Not only does this book cover a wide variety of issues about starting a business on little money, it also provides you with examples of how other businesses started (including some of the big brands that exist today.) From stretching your existing cash to finding your niche, this book is not a black and white “how to start a business in x number of easy steps” but instead a book that can be applied to whatever business you want to start. Or if you have already started and want to go back over some of the fine points it can also be helpful.

Download it here: [download id=”2″]

Seth Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. Godin is author of multiple books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work. His newest book is Linchpin.

What do you think of it? Did it saidia you?

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With:

How To Monitor Your Brand Online For Free

February 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Monitoring what people say about your business online is very important. Everyone and anyone can talk about your business on their blogs, twitter or facebook. However, the very nature of the internet means that what people say about you online can reach millions of people in a few weeks, a few days, or even a few minutes! What if a disgruntled customer talks ill of you and suddenly millions of people hate your business? You need to monitor what people say about you so that you can understand how people view your business and respond to what people say. This is called online reputation management (ORM).

A common challenge for businesses seeking to do ORM is that the internet is too large and it would not be feasible to effectively monitor everything at an unacceptable cost. Well, that used to be true. Today, though, you can monitor your brand very effectively, for free. Watch the video below to learn more.

The strategy is based around using online tools to generate real-time feeds which you can monitor from one central location, Google reader. (You can use any other feed reader).

If you need help or any clarifications feel free to leave a comment below. Good luck.

Filed Under: Internet Culture, Small Business, Tips Hacking and Reviews Tagged With: ,

Online Business Done Right [Interview]

February 4, 2010 by 8 Comments

For the readers that don’t know, Wainaina is the brains behind Corporate Staffing Services, an innovative recruitment agency that delivers! He is also one of the partners behind the massively popular Career Point Kenya. The really interesting bit, though, is the fact that Wainaina uses the power of the internet extensively in his work. A good number of his clients are as a result of his savvy internet marketing efforts.

Q. You’re quite an achiever, tell us about you
My background is in finance and HR. I am a certified public accountant and hold a higher diploma in HR. I attended my undergraduate studies at University of Nairobi six years ago. I began my career at a local bank rising from a teller to a finance officer but all along I knew finance was not my thing. While working at the bank I realized how much potential was out there. I interacted with young folk who were making it despite not have a graduate education. That’s when it hit me that college education in Kenya can sometimes be a hindrance to achieving your life goals, especially when you look upon yourself as privileged simply because you are a Bcom,CPA,CFA or whatever. I remember a friend from high school who was a client of the bank and I could see how profitable his computer business was. And here I was earning less than 35K a month with little or no chances of career progression. There and then I decided to learn all I could about self employment as I look for capital. While still at the bank I started consulting on HR on part time basis. Later I partnered with a colleague and the firm has two directors.

Q. How did you start?
I started with one client at a time. I would say my contacts at the bank came in handy. Actually I would advise anyone wishing to go into business to try this route. Obviously without antagonizing your current employer you can use the contacts you have gotten at your workplace as a launching pad. These are the chaps who know you and as long as you have a solid reputation it is very easy to make inroads. I also chose an industry which I understood – I didn’t need much training in HR, I knew the do and don’ts and, most importantly, I had a workable business model in mind.

Q. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
Money was and has always been an issue. To establish yourself as a credible brand you have to splash a few thousands by way of advertisements or engage a PR firm to put a good word out there. To achieve recognition we have endeavored to provide exceptional service and this way word of mouth and referral is the main source of business. There is also the issue of ethics. Recruitment firms in Kenya have been known to charge candidates for services even when they don’t deliver. We did away with some charges i.e. CV placement and this way we have established ourselves a credible firm that keeps it word. We have also utilized ICT a lot and as earlier stated most of our clients find us through this method. We noticed having a website and a functional one at that matter would greatly reduce our cost. Most jobseekers are online on facebook or using google search engine to look for latest jobs in Kenya. By having a website where we post vacancies we didn’t need to pay exorbitant cost to advertise in the mainstream media.

Q. What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in Kenya?
There is little support from the public. A lot of people will look down upon what you are doing preferring to deal with recognized brands. Big does not necessary mean better results. Remember Nakumatt started as a small supermarket somewhere in Nakuru and two decades later they have expanded to the whole of East Africa. It is high time we started rooting for the underdogs so long as there are delivering. Funds are also an issue. I may have this computer idea but if I don’t have sufficient capital my idea will remain grounded. That’s why I advice one to start small and choose an area which is not capital intensive.

Q. What was critical to your success?
Not giving up. I left the secure world of employment to chart a new course. On several occasions I have come to the verge of going back to employment but then when I look back and see how far we have come I encourage myself that the future is bright. I have a strong network of friends who all happen to be in biashara and this way I get support and ideas on how to make it. It has also been a trial and error thing. We have lost money on ideas that didn’t take off. Some ideas have been successful beyond expectation. We have also utilized the power of internet and consulted with experts like Nickel Pro who have been instrumental in our internet marketing efforts. All in one we have allowed ourselves to grow a step at a time and looking for creative ways to solve most problems that afflict start ups.

Q. What about the competition and marketing, do you need to advertise, print flyers participate to conferences or is it mostly word of mouth?
We tried putting adverts in the main stream media and this was a cropper. Those things don’t work! We haven’t tried print flyers but with our earlier experience with newspapers, I wouldn’t put much hope here. Conferences do work especially if you target the right market and also inform the attendees in ample time. The best marketing method so far is a satisfied client. You don’t need to pay someone to put a good word out there. Just perform the task or duty procured to the best of your ability exceeding expectations where you can and the clients will go spreading the great news about your service. For an SME this is the only tool you have in dealing with competition from the big boys who as we know in Kenya offer awful service.

Q. Do you think that in order to “make it big” online you have to live in a Western country? Or does Kenya offer more or less the same opportunities?
Kenya does offer more. I am extremely lucky to be in this moment. Many business owners large and small in Kenya haven’t realized the power of internet as a competitive advantage. Anyone who has recognized this is already doing good business. The internet world doesn’t recognize how large you are on the ground. Provided you are able to articulate your message well online and your services are impeccable customers will troop to your door. Many Kenyans are now researching for opinions on anything over internet and if you have positioned yourself well the future is bright.

Q. Where do you see yourself and your business (es) in the next 5 years?
We will be one of the most recognized brands in HR consulting offering a wide range of services. We still want to concentrate on the mid sized firms and SME’s. With the success of our online HR campaign I am also looking out for another business model that can utilize the presence of the improved internet services now that the fibre cable is here.

Q. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Much of what I know in internet marketing is self taught. The disadvantage of this is that you might take years cracking it up. Myself I took a cool three years from the time I took it seriously and I am still learning! However if we had outsourced this service earlier maybe we could be far. I am a firm believer in engaging experts and Nickel Pro have been instrumental in our internet marketing efforts. Always consult the experts and you will save yourself money and valuable time.

Q. What advice do you have for internet business entrepreneurs in Kenya?
Learn continuously and be patient. Internet marketing and SEO is not a magic pill that will work instantly upon implementation. We have done a lot of work, toiling daily and engaging experts. Lastly, internet business is it’s infancy stage and the market is waiting for any bold entrepreneur.

That’s all for today readers. If you’d like to hear more from Wainaina, please visit their website: www.staff-kenya.com or www.careerpointkenya.com

Corporate Staffing Services offers HR consultancy services to medium sized firms in the areas of recruitment and training. They also offer soft skills training for job candidates in the area of CV writing, Interview preparation and career coaching. They know their candidates personally and vet who they are, ensuring there are no surprises. Talk to them and let them run your HR docket freeing you important time to concentrate on your business. Email them at jobs[at]staff-kenya.com

Filed Under: Interviews, Small Business Tagged With: , ,

We’re Off!

February 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Biashara 30 has officially started. We look forward to some good times with a group of motivated and ambitious individuals.

What will we be doing? We’ll be doing something along these lines, “I think we need to pool all ideas together. Pick a couple of them that are achievable in the short run (I personally think projects that run for what seems to be infinitely tend to collapse mid-way as the objectives become hazy with time, commitment diminishes etc) and from here give members a chance to group themselves in teams of about 5 people. This should be left to the discretion of the members, so needless to say, we would need to meet sometime in the near future so guys can have a chance to meet the other members and see whom they click with and would work together well. From the ideas chosen each team will pick whichever project they like and start on task division.” (This was written by one of the B30 participants).

We’ll keep you posted on what we get up to. To everyone who applied, thank you.

Filed Under: Biashara 30