Underserved Individual Businesses and SMEs Can Now Leverage Nano & Micro-Influencers
An Opportunity for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to Work with Nano & Micro-influencers and Get Value for Money
According to the World Bank, reports, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) represent about 90 percent of businesses and more than 50 percent of employment worldwide.
Again, formal SMEs contribute up to 40 percent of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. Consequently, these numbers would significantly scale higher when we include informal SMEs.
In Kenya, 2019 saw SMEs contributing to over 30 percent to the Gross Domestic Product, with 83.6 percent attributable to the country’s total employment created by them alone. Kenya’s SMEs play a critical role in the economy, constituting 98 percent of all registered businesses.
However, small businesses don’t get to enjoy some economies of scale detrimental to their growth. One of the biggest challenges they face is the lack of substantial advertising to level competition at large corporations in their trade, making them entirely reliant on word of mouth.
According to the Business Daily, SMEs have traditionally faced systemic challenges leading to a mortality rate of 75 percent within three years of inception due to difficulty of access to finance, access to market, lack of information, management skills, access to technology, infrastructure challenges, and unsupportive policies, among others.
Despite these significant limitations, there’s a silver lining; we live in the sharing economy’s age, where these businesses can erect a billboard in every palm.
“The biggest source of influence for the consumer is friends and family, as well as people who are like me. Brands are learning to work with new platforms and technology, to leverage the consumer-to-consumer influence and tap into micro-cultures, especially where Generation Z is concerned.” - Hamutal Schieber, Founder & CEO of Schieber Research
The “tell a friend” philosophy governs the way small businesses market themselves. The mama mboga at the corner shop ensures to engage consumers with the latest gossip and the extra kitunguu that she supposedly gives to her favourite customers; in exchange for their loyalty to her brand and loyalty to all their families, they recommend her tomatoes.
Leveraging Nano and Micro-influencers
Tech-savvy clothing retailers are already taking advantage of their digital footprint to market their products online without website requirements. They transcend the limitations of a fixed location shop by advertising their products directly to their dedicated following.
Data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows 49.2 percent of licensed SMEs had a monthly turnover of less than sh50, 000, while 35.7 percent recorded a monthly turnover of between sh50, 000–sh1,000,000.
Only 0.2 percent of these businesses had a monthly turnover greater than sh1 million. Individual businesses cannot afford to run a sh.400, 000 Ad campaign on the radio or appear on TV commercials.
Wowzi is set on redeeming these small businesses by providing an alternative to their oral traditions. Small businesses can now launch affordable campaigns with as little as sh20, 000, channeling authentic and trustworthy voices of dedicated consumers talking about their product on the Web.
“People with similar interests consume similar products.” - Brian Mogeni, Co-founder & CEO — Wowzi
Driving sales towards an audience of relatable consumers cause an avalanche effect. Your best customers inform the extended ranks of your target audience about your product. Giving them an incentive for their work only increases this good publicity and boosts business growth.
