In Nigeria’s fiercely competitive market, obtaining a standard corporate strategy is paramount to standing out and aligning a brand’s objectives together with achieving customer satisfaction. Corporate strategy involves an overall plan designed by a brand to direct its affairs on objective adoption, value creation, and pattern of market scope, allowing the business to meet the desired achievement of its core values, inclusive of the mission and vision parameters.
The radical industrial evolution in today’s world therefore calls for a tool that solidifies the design of a brand’s corporate strategy, bringing to the fore the idea of business analysis. This caters for the thorough understanding of a business, including its core needs, intended value, historical processes, and present course of action, in order to provide an informed and useful solution towards areas where performances are deficient in order to facilitate growth and the achievement of objectives. This could point to expansion, diversification, or scrapping of some units to project clarity of functions for performance review.
Based on this backdrop, this article is therefore bent at exploring the concept of business analysis and how it influences the corporate strategies of Nigerian brands, using relevant case studies and statistical citations for better illustrations of impact.
The Nigerian business landscape
Nigeria, the “Giant of Africa,” has the largest economy in Africa, offering numerous opportunities for businesses. However, the economy faces high volatility due to fluctuating oil prices and unstable regulatory policies, stifling growth. Market intensity also poses challenges for businesses, with many struggling to dominate and maintain a favourable consumer market approach. Business analysis is crucial for brands to navigate these challenges and maintain a competitive position in the market.
Small and emerging brands in Nigeria are struggling to adopt business analysis due to a lack of awareness, financial limitations, and the availability of professionals. While sectors like oil & gas, banking, and telecommunications in Nigeria integrate business analysis into their operations, small and medium-sized enterprises lack access to this valuable tool. PwC reports that over 73 percent of financial institutions have designed business analysis routines as part of their operational strategy, leading to operational enhancement, improved customer experience, and compliance with regulatory directives. However, small and medium-sized businesses are now recognising the impact of business analysis and improving their performance.
Gains of business analysis on corporate strategy:
Strategic planning and decision-making
Business analysis is crucial for providing strategic insights for informed decision-making. It involves analysing brand data, studying market trends, and analysing customer behaviour. This analysis helps identify missing links and gauges performance based on marketing strategies. After analysis, new strategies are implemented to effectively compete in the market, ensuring a company’s objectives are achieved and long-term success.
A Nigerian telecommunications company utilised business analysis to enhance its strategy and expand operations in the northern region. Through market analytics and consumer behaviour tests, the company identified new growth areas and aligned its actions with market requirements. This led to a 25 percent increase in product patronage, proving the effectiveness of business analysis in corporate strategy and reducing decision-making time for timely strategy execution.
Read also: Have you analysed your business?
Process optimisation
Process optimisation is a systematic approach to improving a business’s workflow, enabling efficient execution of tasks and adaptability to changing situations. The goal is to measure waist and gain, either by introducing new processes or modifying existing ones for increased quality and productivity. This analysis helps businesses analyse their operations, combating impediments, and aligning with strategic goals, such as Nigerian brands seeking higher profitable rates.
A Nigerian manufacturing company used business analysis to monitor its production process, identifying areas for improvement. This early identification reduced production costs by 15 percent and increased productivity by 20 percent. This demonstrated that business analysis leads to process optimisation, achieving the company’s central objective of reducing production costs and enhancing its market position.
Risk management
Business is a risk, and business owners may experience some loss during operations. Effective risk management strategies can reduce this loss by identifying and assessing internal and external factors that could cause operational disruption. Proactive measures can be taken to mitigate threats before they become unavoidable losses. For example, a retail brand in Nigeria faced instability due to fluctuating exchange rates, leading to increased import product costs. By utilising business analysis, the company was able to spot risks early, position strategies to minimise their impact, and redraft a pricing strategy to protect its profit scale.
Competitive advantage
One of the duties of business analysts is to draw out the strengths and weaknesses of a business. With this, a business would be able to analyse her strengths and toil on them to their advantage in the market amidst competition. With concrete analysis, they can spot what is prevalent in the market and introduce tips peculiar to their business objective to give them an outstanding edge in the market.
Business analysis is crucial in the Nigerian market, where customer loyalty is short. A Nigerian bank used business analysis to curate customer feedback and streamline responses, leading to improved customer interaction and increased satisfaction. This helped the bank maintain existing customers and attract new ones, gaining a competitive position.
The future of business analysis is growing, with the emergence of technologies like AI and machine learning shaping data correspondence. Nigerian brands can easily use these technologies to analyse their businesses, making informed decisions and ideas. The demand for professional business analysts is increasing, and as companies integrate business analysis into their plans, there will be an increase in the employment of experts to navigate the complexities involved.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, business analysis is a vital tool for the enhancement of a business’s corporate strategy. Adequate investment in business analysis would initiate market buoyancy and increase brand sustainable growth, as revealed in the case studies and statistics highlighted. The future of business analysis in Nigeria beams brightly; hence, it becomes an urgent course for business owners to adopt and business analysts to stand firm in the wake of high demand.
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