Are you looking for ways to promote an online store in Nigeria?
In this article, I will introduce you to 8 proven strategies.
In fact, these are the same tactics that eCommerce websites like Jumia swear by. Why? Because they work.
I bet you know who Jumia is, and maybe you have bought one or two things from them.
Did you know that Jumia is one of the largest online stores in Africa? In April 2019, Jumia went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and raised $196 million in net proceeds.
Yes!
An online company that started in Nigeria back in 2013 is now worth millions of dollars.
And today, you are going to learn the same strategies Jumia used to explode their customer base and now one of the household names in Nigeria.
Are you ready?
Let’s get right to it, shall we?
Strategies you can use to promote an online store in Nigeria
Whether you are selling a single product or a fully-stocked online store, selling almost everything, the strategies you are about to see applies to you.
Also, before starting, it is worth noting that there are different types of online stores.
First, some opened an online store on a marketplace.
For example;
You join Jumia as a merchant, where all you do is supply the product whenever an order comes.
What happens here is that Jumia provides the customers and you provide the product. And in return, they take a cut of the sale.
With such an online store in Nigeria, not all of these strategies will work for you.
Why?
Because you don’t own the website you are selling on.
With that said, there is this other online store where you own the website.
This is what I mean;
You source a product, whether through wholesaling or through dropshipping.
With the product, you create an eCommerce website in Nigeria where you can display the product.
Now, with such an arrangement, you have total control of the system, and can, therefore, implement all of these strategies.
#1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves bringing in third-party publishers into your business to help market your products.
And in exchange, they get a cut of the sales they drive.
Why is this important?
Here is the thing;
As an affiliate, you do not make anything unless the customer you referred purchases something.
If you think about it, what do you have to lose as the store owner?
All you have to do is incorporate affiliate publishers management system. Here, you can manage all of your publishers.
Also, this is where they can generate unique links to promote products in your store and follow up on analytics in real-time.
Is this worth it?
Well, affiliate marketing as an industry alone is worth over $12 billion worldwide. This shows you that it is not only in Nigeria that this type of marketing happens.
What to do
First, offer attractive commissions to publishers, and you won’t have to worry about getting them.
Second, set up a screening system to weed out unqualified publishers from joining the program.
And to entice them, offer things like contests only meant for the affiliates where they win cash prizes or shopping vouchers.
With that said, let’s look at another way to promote an online in Nigeria.
#2. PPC Advertising
PPC stands for Pay Per Click.
This is a way of advertising where you only pay when the action happens.
For example;
If you want people to click a specific link, you only pay when that happens, other than that, you are money is safe.
A perfect example of PPC advertising is Google Ads.
See, you already know Google as one of the most popular search engines in Nigeria.
As such, entrepreneurs turn to it to target customers who are actively searching for their products online.
This is how it works in a nutshell;
A user goes to Google and searches for something like ‘domains in Nigeria’
He will see two types of results;
- Ads – these are people who have paid Google to be on top of the search results
- Organic results – websites ranking purely through SEO.
Now, it’s been proven that the #1 result on Google often gets over 34.2% click-through-rate.
This means that if 1K people are searching for domains in Nigeria, 342 will click on your online store.
And the number decreases as you go down the search results.
This explains why everyone is obsessed with being number one.
With that in mind, take the keyword (search query) your target audience uses most and pay Google to show your website every time that query is searched.
Take a look at what WhoGoHost did with the keyword ‘domains in Nigeria.’ You can bet they are making money out of this strategy.
Better part?
They only pay whenever someone clicks on their ad.
#3. Blogging & SEO
Yes, you can incorporate blogging into your online store in Nigeria.
In fact, this should be the number one way to promote an online store in Nigeria right now.
Why?
Because of all 85.49 million internet users in Nigeria, over 50% of them are searching for How-to and Guides type of questions.
To implement this, all you have to do is add a blog section to your online store. This can be as easy as having a page labeled ‘Blog’ on your website.
It is from this place where you will be publishing articles related to whatever you are selling.
For example;
If you are selling blenders, you can write and publish guides on how to clean and use these items.
Once you have the articles, it is time to put them in front of interested users.
How?
Through SEO!
Search Engine Optimization is the #1 way to give users what they want at the right time.
So, after writing your guides, go ahead and optimize them for search engines.
- Use keyword on the title, introduction, and a few times throughout the article
- Have meta description
- Use alt tags
- Perform internal and external linking
Most importantly, make your article actionable.
#4. Email Marketing
To use email marketing as a way to promote an online store in Nigeria, you first need a list of emails.
These are people who have shown interest in your products and are more receptive to your messages.
Since this is the key to your marketing, here are some ways you can get email addresses for your eCommerce website in Nigeria;
- Offer a discount code in exchange for their email address. Here, you are asking the user to give you their email address and in return, they get a discount code for their next order.
- Free download – if you are selling products like electronics, you can offer a guide on how to take care of them for free.
- Collect emails when they place orders
- Conduct training and ask for email as sign up requirement
Now that you have the email addresses, what do you do with them?
First, you need a system to help you manage the emails and campaigns you will be sending.
The best email marketing software in Nigeria is Mailchimp. It is free (for up to 1000 contacts), and easy to use.
With a tool like these, you can start sending campaigns to these addresses.
But here is the secret;
Avoid sending promotional messages all the time. Follow the marketing rule; 80/20.
This means that only 20% of all your messages (emails) should be promotional. The rest, 80%, should be aimed at building a relationship with your list.
- Send them guides on how to handle your products
- Ask questions aimed at understanding them better
- Teach them something new
With this in mind, if you are sending 10 emails per week, only 2 should be promotional!
#5. Social Media Viral Posts and Contests
As of January 2020, there were at least 27 million active social media users in Nigeria.
These are people who log in to Facebook to catch up with friends and families. But what brands don’t understand is that people do not go to social media to keep up with them.
This means that you have to divert their attention from what they are doing to what your online store is offering.
And there is no better way to do that than through viral posts.
For example;
You can create a contest and ask users to share the post with their friends as a way to join and win (make sure to read the rules governing contests within platforms).
Another way to capture attention is by asking users to take pictures and upload them on Instagram and tag your online store handle.
And in exchange, they win a prize or something.
One of the best ways to capture attention is by using video content. It is no wonder 99% of marketers will continue to use it to promote their business in 2021.
In fact, according to the new study, video is predicted to account for an unprecedented 82% of all Internet traffic by 2020.
This means that if you want attention on social media in Nigeria, you need to produce video content.
- Show behind the scenes of your offices (if you have it) this helps connect with the audience
- Review your products
- Upload customer testimonials to boost credibility and trust
- Go live and hold contests and giveaways
Do this and you won’t have to struggle to promote your online store in Nigeria.
#6. Super Deals and Discounts
Jumia Nigeria is notorious for deals and discounts.
Just go through their website and you will see what I mean.
There is no secret sauce here. It is something you can replicate on your eCommerce website as well.
To do this, you need a tool to help generate coupon codes and manage them (expiry dates and redeeming).
Why does this work?
It has to do with the price elasticity law in business; demand goes up when prices go down.
As such, discounts lead to better sales conversions.
For example;
If you offer a 30% discount, you should see at least a 30% bump in sales.
Among the top headaches eCommerce owners like you go through, cart abandonment is on top.
Why do people leave without buying and how should you remedy the situation?
The top reason is an increase in extra fees.
For example;
Customer goes to checkout and they realize that the shipping fee is higher than they thought. What do they do? Abandon ship!
What do you do as the store owner?
The best and proven way is to give them a discount.
Send them an email reminding them about the hanging cart, and include a coupon code.
That is just but one way to use discounts to promote an online store in Nigeria.
And then there are the flash sales.
These are sales discounts lasting for under 24 hours. Often, the goal is to entice customers to impulse buy, push brand loyalty and awareness.
Here are some of the benefits of having a flash sale promotion;
- Boost revenues
- Helps clear excess inventory
- Drives traffic to your eCommerce website
- And boost sales of non-sale products
Now you are wondering;
How do you make money when you offer discounts?
The easiest way to recoup the money is through upselling and cross-selling.
Here, when the customer buys item A, you recommend product AB that is better and of higher prices.
The goal is to increase the size of customer orders through personalized recommendations.
#7. Partner With Other Brands
Collaborating with other brands is another proven way to promote an online store in Nigeria.
Here, you are partnering with brands with the same audience, but complimentary products.
For example;
If you are selling outdoor gear, you can partner with a company selling hiking shoes.
Alternatively, you can sponsor local events, host events, and attend one.
By doing so, you are introducing your brand to the local people, thus helping boost awareness.
#8. Reviews
93% of customers read online reviews before buying a product.
Every time you want to buy something, what do you do?
I bet you go online and do some digging.
For this reason, you need to build a culture where your existing customers leave honest reviews of your products and their experience in your store.
For example;
Send an email to your customers after receiving the product reminding them to leave an honest review.
What do you do with the negative reviews?
The best way is not to delete or ignore them. Instead, engage with the customer to understand their concerns and layout all the things you did to solve the issue right there.
Later on, you can follow up once the issue has been solved and ask them to change their review.
Why does this matter?
Four out of five customers lose interest in your business after reading a negative review.
Wrapping up how to market an online store
You just read some of the best and proven strategies employed by top eCommerce websites in Nigeria to bring in millions of dollars in revenue.
As you can see, these are the same tactics you can employ in your online store.
So, if you don’t have a store already, read here how to create one for free. And then use this guide to market it