Nigeria’s economy is said to be the largest economy in Africa, accommodating different scopes and industries for increased national GDP rates. This promising economy is, however, frequently plagued with significant hurdles like political instability, inflation, fluctuating oil prices, and other volatile situations, which greatly affect the business coaching industry as far as the most seasoned professionals. Findings of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) highlight that during stiff economic periods, businesses are forced to reduce discretionary ventures that include the budget of coaching services.
When this happens, there’s a struggle in the coaching industry because of less service demand and a high competition rate that might lead to job losses and starvation. This article therefore promises to spread strategic guidelines aimed at equipping coaches to successfully navigate economic headwinds, fostering industry growth and sustainable coaching practice.
It’s quite frustrating for business coaches when the economy appears dwindling because of the less financial impact they incur. During uncertain times, businesses view coaching as non-essential, focussing more on how to thrive in crisis and overall efficiency. It becomes a very difficult landscape for both coaching entrants and seasoned coaches, as they usually resort to downward pressure on pricing and profitability. Unbeknownst to these businesses is that investing in coaching is best during economic downturns. The direction of these specialists (coaches) would help shape a positive outcome.
Most of the rapproaches during these times are strategic to cater to crisis management, customer retention, operational productivity, and achieving immediate value of ROI to help businesses weather the storm no matter how turbulent. This makes the survey by PwC Nigeria cohesive, revealing that 67 percent of Nigerian executives believe that coaching can enhance leadership capabilities and accelerate organisational resilience, especially in times of economic hardship.
Some of the challenges facing the coaching industry in Nigeria include:
Economic instability:
In Nigeria, the economy vows to always stay unstable because of its perceived unaccountable government responsible for the fluctuation of oil prices, inflation, discouraging minimum wage, and many others invariably contributing to the reduction of residual income for businesses as they may struggle to see tangible dividends from their return on investment (ROI) schemes. Sadly, this reality attracts low demand for coaching services, especially in a saturated market. While a lot of seasoned coaches battle for survival, the intrusion of new entrants increases, further increasing the overall challenge.
Lack of awareness and understanding:
Some individuals and businesses are still unaware of coaching and its impact. It’s a double-edged sword situation; some people are genuinely unaware, whereas some are aware but belittling its effect. This is in parallel to cultural barriers, where in some cultures, it’s abominable to seek external help as it comes with a stigma. These are all channelled into factors that dissuade coaching investments, contributing to a deplorable economic situation for coaches.
Conformity with technology:
The use of technology has given coaching a different approach and connected more to their clients. Digital tools and platforms such as emailing, video conferencing, podcasts, AI mobile coaching apps, and virtual reality shape the reality of coaching in this era. These technologies, however, cannot be obtained and accessed by all, especially the traditionally inclined coaches who know little or nothing about tech. Apparently, this lack of conformation adds to the economic struggle of coaches.
Financial constraints:
Coaching gigs are seasonal. They don’t get along every time, except of course you’re well recognised in a given niche. While this is not the case for many coaches, they end up facing the rot of insufficient finance. This lack pushes them to mismanage their brand and set unreasonable and below the standard coaching prices. Ultimately, they accumulate cheap and inconsistent clients that would add no impact to their profit margin; hence, client retention and engagement become a long-term problem.
The coaching industry in Nigeria is on a massive shift, fuelled by economic fluctuations and technological development. However, businesses should realise that no matter how bad the economy gets, the importance of coaching remains fat, given the valuable input it has during hardship. Despite these challenges, the future of coaching in Nigeria remains daring and promising, with coaching entrants diversifying the opportunities that lie within the scope; specialised niches being on the rise and gaining more focus.
Strategies
Adaptation:
Business coaches should be able to adapt to different situations regardless of whether these situations are harmful or favourable. Coaches should know how to effectively tailor approaches to meet the expectations of the challenge. For instance, during an economic downturn, coaches should emphasise how to prevent and manage crises in an organisation, offering strategic agility for productivity.
Digitisation:
Coaches should strive to embrace digital tools because, in this era of high competition both at global and local grounds, one has to be well abreast of emerging technologies in order to reach larger audiences and fit in sync with their needs. When coaches stay updated with technological advancements, they will stay afloat with relevance and never run out of clients.
Speciality:
Like every other niche, there are experts in sub-niches under a major niche. In the case of coaching, being a general business coach can be good and show versatility, but phasing into either a leadership coach, mental wellness coach, administrative coach, talent management coach, etc. can attract unique views and thicken professionalism. It’s necessary to develop mastery in a given niche in order to set your brand’s voice apart. This also includes getting professional certification and enrolling in standard bodies adhering to industry standards for a more valued outlook.
The future of Nigeria’s coaching industry in Nigeria signals promising strides through the emerging opportunities from the industry. Challenges in the scope can be overcome by strategic adaptation of skills and continuous development. It’s on this note coaches are urged to embrace digital innovations, developing their ideology on selected niches, and capitalising on trends to have a successful and impactful run.
Conclusion
Having identified the challenges and opportunities of business coaching in Nigeria, business coaches can adequately navigate these challenges if they seize the opportunities that stand side by side with the challenges. Business coaches should strategise with continuous professional development, adaptability, and understanding Nigeria’s coaching market so they can position themselves to swim through any murky waters in the industry, providing value to their clients.
