Various books and seminars have emphasised the importance of innovations to keep organisations competitive or to gain market advantage but Ged Nooy, Managing Director of Nielsen Nigeria said innovation is not absolute as it must be subjected to testing before implementation to substantiate it.
Experts have said that out of every 7 new innovative products, only one succeeds and laying credence to this, Nooy who spoke at his company’s event in Lagos recently said concepts fail because a lot of managers rush to the market without testing the innovation before implementation and execution.
“Another challenge is that innovation is sometimes just done to extend the brand line instead of identifying what the customer needs”, Nooy further said at the forum which looked at the question of whether retailers and manufacturers are equipped to beat the odds they are facing in Nigeria by anticipating and preparing for the future.
Nooy and his team had invited clients to assess future consumption trends and how this can be shaped and the big drivers and some of the developments that will do that.
According to him, “everyone is fighting for growth, competition for consumers’ wallets has never been greater, and growing share of those wallets has never been tougher. In a challenging environment, finding opportunities with the right insights becomes key to help beat the odds.”
In helping the clients beat the odd, Nooy said Nielsen creates a benchmark to determine how clients are performing. “If they are growing below the benchmark, we look at why until we find where the problem is”.
Also speaking, Ailsa Wingfield, Executive Director, Thought Leadership, Nielsen said, “Opportunities today and tomorrow are about understanding and delivering what consumers need and want. Times are shifting”, she said.
She noted that “there are more products on the shelf today than ever before, from new and existing brands, and a whole lot more information points, advocates and advertising telling consumers about them. The consumer is spoilt for choice. Brands need to identify their purpose and provide the right value to their customers, if they want to keep them loyal”.
Other insights from the event showed that Nigeria is a complex market. There are consumers who are upbeat and confident with 81% feeling good about the state of their financials, 60% of Nigerians say they can only afford the basics. 41% of Nigerians feel that their quality of life is better but more than half feel that it is worse, leading to a polarization in the market with consumers at both ends of the spectrum. “Marketers need to cater to the demands of those who want value and at the same time those who are aspirational and want quality, premium products”.
“Another trend impacting consumer behaviour is the rise of disloyalty. 88% consumers across Africa & the Middle East are ready to defect and 45% consumers love trying new things. In such a scenario it becomes all the more important to understand consumer attitudes and perceptions and how they make choices”.
Daniel Obi
