Word of Mouth Marketing: Lessons From Iya Beji of Ogunpa.
Have you heard ‘Iya Beji of Ogunpa’ give her testimony? It might not be one of those testimonies shared in the religious community but the lessons conveyed should be learned from. She started her business about 6 years ago in Ogunpa market, Ibadan and according to her, she was given the nickname ‘Iya Beji of Ogunpa’ because of how she never quits marketing her Aso-oke and fabric adornment business.
She embraces both online and offline marketing strategies to meet her clients and prospects wherever they might be situated. We at Triift Africa agree with her opinion that for a small business to expand, they must be ready to make use of all available platforms to promote their business, without forgetting that word of mouth marketing reaps bountiful fruits. When it comes to word of mouth marketing, the aim is that the praises of your business should be sung after an encounter with your brand, turning previous clients into brand advocates and loyal customers. Let’s share with you 5 lessons from her word of mouth marketing strategy.
Have you read: Understanding MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in Nigeria.
#1: Keep Talking
You can’t claim to be in business and ready to make sales without always speaking about your business. People can’t buy into your product if you do not believe in it, furthermore, the only way to show that you trust your product and that the value you offer is worth their investment is by talking about your product. This is the obvious reason she got nicknamed as ‘Iya Beji of Ogunpa’.
#2: Referral Marketing
So many businesses underutilize referral marketing and neglect the growth and expansion their business could experience as a result of this strategy. The impressive stuff about referral marketing is the fact that your customers get to market your business without you paying them to do so because they are satisfied with both your product and service delivery.
Now think about those companies that send you referral codes and give you a discount if a friend uses your code to make a purchase or place an order; they are making use of a full-blown referral marketing strategy. Since Iya Beji offers a fantastic service and her customer relations game is on point, she perfectly combines this with the next lesson.
#3: Inclusion of Talk Triggers
She never forgets that the longer she can get a client to sing the praises of her business, the more clients she is likely to get in return. With the use of talk triggers, customers get extra value on all purchased item. For starters, a talk trigger is a strategic business choice that compels conversation and meets the requirement of being remarkable, relevant, reasonable, repeatable.
At Iya Beji’s store, apart from the neatly arranged reception area where customers get to sit while they are being attended to, she ensures that there is an extra topping on the cake for everyone. For clients who want to wait at the reception while their fabric is being adorned, they get served a hot plate of ‘amala and abula’, which is the main meal of Ibadan people. She makes this possible by partnering with a restaurant close to her store and gets a discount on each plate of meal because she gives out their business card to the client; this serves as an advert for the restaurant and everyone goes home happy.
According to her, she wants to give her clients the ‘owanbe’ fever to get them in the mood for the party they intend to wear the purchased material to. This simple act is one that makes her store very popular and well talked about.
Check out: #LoudIt: Want your small business to be seen and heard? Tell a story!
#4: Facilitate Training and Seminars
If you are excellent at what you do, its high time you stepped out to train others. Iya Beji started by contacting coordinators of programmes in the fashion industry and requesting that they let her speak or be a trainer at events. Although she got turned down a couple of times and other times she didn’t get paid; however, she isn’t relenting because she sees each event as an opportunity to mention her brand to the audience and give out gifts like branded wristbands and pens to anyone who contributes during her speech. She always comes to prepare.
#5: Offline Marketing Is As Important as Online Marketing
A large number of the world’s population can indeed be found online using several social media platforms, but as a small business owner, there are also a large number of your prospects who do not use digital technology yet. Does that mean they should be left behind? Apart from embracing digital marketing strategies like social media marketing and other Pay-Per-Click advertising platforms, the use of word of mouth marketing helps you actively seek a connection with customers and turn them into brand ambassadors for your business.
We’ll love to hear your testimonies on how Word of Mouth Marketing has improved your business or how you intend to put into practice any of the lessons taught by Iya Beji of Ogunpa.
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