SEASON'S GREETINGS
14 years ago
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Thank You Buyers
I just want to thank all of you that have patronised TradeDuct over the last year. It has been indeed an interesting year for us at TradeDuct as we had never traded in Nigeria previously and did not understand a lot about the terrain and the numerous obstacles that could hinder good business growth.
Our TV stands were meant to be the first of many items to be distributed in Nigeria through wholesalers and retailers and we brought them in amidst a high level of anticipation and expectations. At prices as low as 8000 naira who would have expected that distributing 5000 TV stands will be a problem in a country of over 100 million people. Well we were not totally correct as we walked straight into a cartel trading in Alaba who had a monopoly over the market and will not buy from us even at reduced rates!
This left us with two choices - either sell to the cartel at a loss or find another medium to engage the general public. We chose option 2 and and started a campaign to sell dierectly to the end user through email marketing and newspaper advertisement and go a step further by delivering to them wherever possible in Nigeria.
Of course going down this route had a few snags with gaining the trust of our customers, there were those who chose to swear at the new idea and brand us as 419's to those who threatened to report us to the authorities! However with our perseverance we have sold close to 4000 TV stands with only 2 complaints from customers who had a missing piece.
Its quite interesting to see how we have been able to sell so many stands from our base in London through the Internet and not to forget the many frieds we have made in the process.
I do promise to increase the number of different products shortly and we are also looking to see what we can export from Nigeria to European companies and consumers as Nigeria is truly blessed - A land of opportunity and good people.
Our TV stands were meant to be the first of many items to be distributed in Nigeria through wholesalers and retailers and we brought them in amidst a high level of anticipation and expectations. At prices as low as 8000 naira who would have expected that distributing 5000 TV stands will be a problem in a country of over 100 million people. Well we were not totally correct as we walked straight into a cartel trading in Alaba who had a monopoly over the market and will not buy from us even at reduced rates!
This left us with two choices - either sell to the cartel at a loss or find another medium to engage the general public. We chose option 2 and and started a campaign to sell dierectly to the end user through email marketing and newspaper advertisement and go a step further by delivering to them wherever possible in Nigeria.
Of course going down this route had a few snags with gaining the trust of our customers, there were those who chose to swear at the new idea and brand us as 419's to those who threatened to report us to the authorities! However with our perseverance we have sold close to 4000 TV stands with only 2 complaints from customers who had a missing piece.
Its quite interesting to see how we have been able to sell so many stands from our base in London through the Internet and not to forget the many frieds we have made in the process.
I do promise to increase the number of different products shortly and we are also looking to see what we can export from Nigeria to European companies and consumers as Nigeria is truly blessed - A land of opportunity and good people.
Challenges of Selling in Nigeria
The ability to sell quality goods in Nigeria via the Internet is indeed a challenge of sorts. The major hurdle to jump is the little matter of "trust". In most cases everyone has been duped in the past or knows somone who has been defrauded or in some uncanny cases predict that they will be reaped off in the future.With everyone in a constant state of alert, not even trusting friends and family, every trader must first jump this trust hurdle to have any chance of success online.
For internet selling to be a success, it relies heavily on a stable banking infrastructure either through traditional banks or 3rd party companies that carry out banking transactions like paypal. Ironically in Nigeria this is an industry that is bereft with inconsistencies.Unlike in most countries where you make a payment for a purchase knowing fully well that they will be delivered as promised and on time, this is not currently the case in Nigeria with logistics problems ranging from Police checkpoints, finding customer addresses to finding a good courier company to guarantee delivery.
Breaking the monopoly of the local business cartels in some industries like electronics, furniture and fashion can only be achieved through internet channels as this will allow the consumers to finally have a choice of what they can get and how it is delivered to them.
Regardless of all the above issues, selling in Nigeria through the Internet is an emerging and exciting business with tremendous opportunities. What you need to do is to build your brand and the trust of your customers. When eventually the banks get in line you will be truly positioned to make the most of this mode of selling.
For internet selling to be a success, it relies heavily on a stable banking infrastructure either through traditional banks or 3rd party companies that carry out banking transactions like paypal. Ironically in Nigeria this is an industry that is bereft with inconsistencies.Unlike in most countries where you make a payment for a purchase knowing fully well that they will be delivered as promised and on time, this is not currently the case in Nigeria with logistics problems ranging from Police checkpoints, finding customer addresses to finding a good courier company to guarantee delivery.
Breaking the monopoly of the local business cartels in some industries like electronics, furniture and fashion can only be achieved through internet channels as this will allow the consumers to finally have a choice of what they can get and how it is delivered to them.
Regardless of all the above issues, selling in Nigeria through the Internet is an emerging and exciting business with tremendous opportunities. What you need to do is to build your brand and the trust of your customers. When eventually the banks get in line you will be truly positioned to make the most of this mode of selling.
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