23/08/2025
All Things MSMEs!
By Victor Nyasulu
ConsultantsVNc09180825-Marketing
As stated last week, a conversation about marketing is incomplete without the four Ps of marketing. The said four Ps also known as the marketing mix combine together almost magically for successfully marketed products and/or services.
The said four Ps are stand for Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Most MSMEs in Zambia do not think that professional marketing is worth spending money on. In difficult economic situations, therefore, the expense lines that suffer big cuts include marketing yet Marketers will argue that, that is the exact perfect time for increasing marketing spend!
The power of marketing in recent Zambian history can perhaps be best illustrated by the VATRA brand of water as compared to the Manzi brand! MANZI, as some of my readers will recall was introduced so many years before trade kings’ VATRA brand and yet if someone visited Zambia from abroad today, they would be excused if they think that VATRA has been on the Zambian drinking water market for longer than the MANZI or even VITAL brands!
By the way, is marketing indeed worth bothering about for any MSME? The answer is a definite Yes!
It is a ‘Yes’ because marketing can:Increase visibility i.e., it can help reach new customers and expand market presence
Drive sales i.e., effective marketing strategies lead to increased revenueBuilds brand identity i.e., establishes a unique image and reputation
Enhance competitive advantage i.e., it can help differentiate MSMEs from competitors
Help adaptation to market changes i.e., it can enable MSMEs to respond to shifting Customer needs.
Marketing actually helps MSMEs to:Identify target audiencesDevelop brand awarenessCreate customer engagement Generate leads Measure performance.
By leveraging marketing, MSMEs can achieve sustainable growth, improve competitiveness, and increase market share.
Back to the four Ps.
Product refers to the actual thing or service being offered to the market. What value is actually being sold? Whatever it is, it must be something in demand. This therefore, presupposes that an effective market survey was done in the first place! In other words, this is what the MSME is offering to solve an identified customer need.
The Price represents that cost and profit inherent in the making of the product/service by the investor or his/her agent
https://dailyrevelationzambia.com/all-things-msmes-4/
