From Where I Sat
A Palatable And Really Tasty Dish Of‘ Machakura’
By Robert Wamai
You may be wondering what kind of title is this and why. The reason is simple; over the Xmas period I tend to read articles or watch features or listen to podcasts especially on YouTube that I have put off and‘ saved for later’, as the year rolls on. This article is therefore a patch work of these‘ put offs’ for each piece, on its own, is not long enough to be an article that can be published nor worth your time reading. And so I am like one preparing a meal in a hurry using leftovers and throwing them all into a‘ sufuria’, then adding spices to try make it more palatable. Given that the meal cannot be described in one word it’ s a‘ mixed grill’, commonly called,‘ Machakura’. As the name suggests, and as is the case most of the time,‘ Machakura’ is neither pleasing to the eye nor very tasty, it’ s just a‘ make do’, with most people eating it out of no choice or being courteous to the cook.
However, I am confident that the spices and condiments I have added will make this meal edible and tasty making it worth your time at the table. Each spice or condiment is the lesson I have picked from the various‘ pieces’ all on You Tube, so bon appetite.
Spice One: Your Competitors And Their Customers Are Worthy of Your Respect
I am writing this article on Jan 20th, 2025, Martin Luther Day which coincides with the inauguration of President Trump. In the December 2024 Marketing Africa issue, I gave my thoughts on why Kamala lost, but there is something I missed that must be added to this dish, a spice that will make it more appealing to the eye and tongue. While discussing President Trump’ s victory on CNN that evening, Nov 4th, 2024, Scott Jennings, a writer and a frequent political contributor on CNN, who leans to the Republican Party, provided a worthy marketing lesson. Speaking about President Trump’ s voters he had this to say;‘ I am interpreting the result as revenge for the regular workingclass American who has been crushed, insulted and condescended to. They are not garbage, they are not Nazis, they are just regular people who get up and go to work trying to make a better life for their kids and feel like they have been told to shut up when they are complaining about the things that are hurting them in their lives.’ He continued,’ and for those of us who cover and talk about elections on a daily basis we have to figure out how to listen and understand half the country that rose tonight and said‘ we have hard enough’!
There are two take outs here. The first is straightforward; the need to keep a pulse on our customers present and potential in order to decipher their pain points, which keep changing with time and their circumstances and then figure out how our product can alleviate their discomfort. That’ s how to win in this rapidly evolving and competitive market place. Without this knowledge and our appropriate response, our customers will leave and we shall not know why.
To win over the competitors’ customers, one must begin by respecting them and their choice. It is important to acknowledge that their choices make perfect sense to them and to understand why they lean that way. We must not look down upon nor presume they are clueless for choosing a product’ that we think,‘ cannot match ours in any shape or form’.
Lesson two is that to win over the competitors’ customers, one must begin by respecting them and their choice. It is important to acknowledge that their choices make perfect sense to them and to understand why they lean that way. We must not look down upon nor presume they are clueless for choosing a product’ that we think,‘ cannot match ours in any shape or form’. Being judgemental, like one sitting on a high horse, blinds us, resulting in missing the chance to understand their motivations and more importantly ways of getting into their minds and hearts, so they can at least give our product a chance. This is the same for a political candidate, who must never assume your opponent or their voters‘ are not with it’. This not
26 MAL64 / 25 ISSUE