understand my needs.
Remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
If not, let me share a short story. Back
in 1969, while the rest of the world was
partying, this guy was studying monkeys.
He found something interesting with
monkeys; monkeys always made sure they
quenched their thirst before looking for
shelter and they always ensured they had
shelter before looking for love, friendship
or companionship.
Moving on, he also took time and studied
the human race and similarly; human
beings cared less for love unless they felt
secure, they were uninterested in control
unless they felt respected by their peers.
Long story short, that is how Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs was born.
A framework that has over the years been
used by marketers to profile consumers’
and make meaning of their choices
by understanding their motives, their
influences, their cultural backgrounds,
rationality, beliefs etc. It is basically a
theory of human motivation.
Understanding consumer behavior is a
vital weapon in creating products that
win the hearts and minds of consumers.
It is what will separate the wheat from
the chaff and most importantly build
long-lasting Brand loyalty. Fuliza is an
exceptional chapter in this story.
Whereas big data in this case was more
concerned with the inside data, Fuliza,
through their conscientious effort in
seeking to understand consumer behavior,
gathered and clearly made sense of the
outside data as well.
In their pursuit of consumer insight, they
sought to understand both the market
needs and what the consumer actually
wanted. In understanding this, one looks
out for: the motives, desires, impulses and
all other emotional, rational or cultural
beliefs as an individual factor in the
purchase decision process because again,
this is where the magic truly lies.
The market is almost like a jungle of some
sort; different consumers with different
needs, appeals and values. Whereas some
are driven by discovery, challenge and new
frontiers, some care more about people’s
perceptions of them rather than their
own values. So you must be clear on what
portion of the jungle you want to serve.
Safaricom’s appetite of continuously
transforming lives through product in-
novation kept their fire burning and de-
veloping Fuliza was both doing the right
thing and doing it right. Not just for
Safaricom but for the two underwriting
banks as well because for them, Fuliza
offers an opportunity for customer ac-
quisition and additional high-margin in-
come streams as well; a win-win for all-
the customer, the banks and Safaricom.
Doing the right thing &
Doing it right!
Listen to the boss Bob Collymore here.
“For a customer, a delayed transaction
translates to a lost opportunity or a missed
deal. We believe this is why Fuliza has
proved to be immensely popular with our
customers. Our insight behind Fuliza was
the fact that 58 percent of transactions
that failed due to insufficient funds were
completed within two days. This showed
that there was an un-met need where we
could come in and help our customers
complete their transactions, even if they
lacked funds at the time.”
These are key takeout points and here’s
why. Safaricom through its partnerships
with Kenya Commercial Bank and
Commercial Bank of Africa already have
loan products courtesy of KCB-MPESA
and M-Shwari respectively. So what
necessitated an additional product? The
need to “do it right”.
“KCB-MPESA and M_Shwari are term
loans to be sorted within 30 days, Fuliza
is an Overdraft to sort an immediate
and very specific need”, says the Finance
Chief, @Sitoyo Lopokoiyit. These guys
truly understood the insights derived
from their data and that’s why they didn’t
just stop and settle for the M_Shwaris’
of the day. Whereas that might have
amounted to “doing the right thing” it
simply wouldn’t be “doing it right”.
Safaricom’s appetite of continuously
transforming lives through product
innovation kept their fire burning and
developing Fuliza was both doing the
right thing and doing it right. Not just for
Safaricom but for the two underwriting
banks as well because for them, Fuliza
offers an opportunity for customer
acquisition and additional high-margin
income streams as well; a win-win for all-
the customer, the banks and Safaricom.
So to you Safaricom, you keep on traversing
our territory like a Colossus and we can
see why. You have a keen eye in picking
out the disruption that’s taking place in
the business space and responding just in
time. The next disruption is coming thick
and fast from Goliaths’ just like yourselves,
maybe even bigger than you. Big-tech
boys like Amazon, Facebook and Google.
Google just recently launched its digital
payment platform Gpay; WhatsApp too,
recently did their WhatsApp Pay test runs
in India. Africa is a market of a billion+,
what happens when the big boys come for
their share of that pie here in Kenya?
Big data, consumer behavior and your
good grasp of the two turned Fuliza into a
giant but behold, the future beckons.
Cheers! Toast to tomorrow!
Chabala H. Walter is a perceptive|
amiable | conscious | A Sales,
Marketing and Communications
Professional. You can commune
with him on this or related matters
via email at: Chabalawalter@
gmail.com.