MARKETING
Marketing To The African Millennial
By Lionel Marumahoko
The end of the year is a season of various attempts to drive up consumer spending through marketing campaigns positioned as opportunities to obtain products and services at great discounted prices . These cultural periods are now classified as Black Friday , which precedes the American Thanks Giving holiday and subsequently Christmas that is also characterized by getaway attractions .
These phenomena have over recent years been introduced by international brands in Africa in a bid to create similar excitement and spur market activity on the continent as is being done mostly in the US , Europe and parts of Asia .
When these brands come to the African market , they are mostly targeting the millennial age group that is between 26 to 41 years old , a segment that arguably has the highest spending power . But the reality from my experience and anecdotal observation , is that the African millennial is different from that in other regions .
This means that there are several contextual aspects of this population segment that can be learned and tapped into . For instance , unlike their counterparts in the US and Europe who are usually already working and earning an income by the time they reach 26 years old , Africans will most often be still on their first job , in college , or still searching . In many instances , when they have an income , it will be used to support other siblings or relatives through school as well .
But once they settle in their careers or business ventures with better income streams , their consumer culture becomes quite aspirational as they try to catch up on the things they may have missed in their childhood . At this point they have young families and will try do the same for their children .
Despite these general observations , we find that many brands still struggle to get through to them . In my view , it boils down to three notable issues : lack of sufficient research , a blockaded environment devoid of ideas and slow attunement to the customers ’ expectations .
Granted , most brands invest in research before and during their market penetration
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There ’ s need for a great mindset rethink . The fact that a company hires young people in the lower ranks of the business doesn ’ t automatically translate to connection with the millennial market , unless the c-suite executives give the junior cadres space to experiment , fail and succeed . activities . However , experience has shown that most of this is fairly superficial and does not generate sufficient insights to deliver the right customer experience . For one , they fall short of aligning with the millennials ’ definition of happiness . The millennials define happiness differently . Theirs is more holistic and includes freedom , time and family . We need to think about how to help them achieve these things for they are not just buying stuff .
It is crucial then that the firms selling to them and marketing to this demographic invest in the right research to learn about their hopes , aspirations , fears and struggles . They need to reach behind the veil of the questionnaire and establish who the humans really are . They need to truly understand their problems and find creative ways of solving these problems .
Customer experience for the African millennial is determined by the customers themselves . They have embraced technology and it is important to meet them at their point of need with the technology . Some brands have successfully made this transition with Coca Cola for instance moving from marketing within the arm ’ s need of desire to within a click ’ s need of desire .
Technology is now major driving force for change . Examples abound how firms are using technology in different ways , including setting websites and having their product range online and even using a contact center for customer service .
But technology has also shortened what we call the gap between awareness and advocacy . This is the length of time it takes for a consumer to experience your product or service and to either recommend or trash
30 MAL52 / 23 ISSUE