Growing local brands From NOW to NEXT

The world we live in has changed, the way people engage and relate with brands has also changed, demanding businesses to either evolve, adapt or die. “With digital being more of a necessity than a choice and mobile continuing to gain momentum, it has become crucial for businesses to start integrating digital technologies and strategies into their operations”, said Miyelani Baloyi, a Strategy Consultant at Omedia Intelligence.

Omedia Intelligence is a brand strategy consultancy that helps small to medium-size businesses build meaningful and valuable connections with their customers through strategy-led brand experience design. “This will put them ahead of the pack, equipping them to consistently deliver value to their customers”, Miyelani added.

Having worked with a variety of businesses in South Africa and Zambia, we have grown to understand that NOW is all about change, uncertainty and disruption. It is about the END of old realities and the beginning of a new era of possibilities. We strongly believe that WHAT’S NEXT lies in the hands of individuals living in the digital world.

In order for local brands and business to cut through the noise and win their contest in the marketplace, they have to embrace the NOW by constantly looking for ways to discover and understand their people, what they want, need, hate and love.

Strategy before everything

However, without a proper strategy in place, business growth and expansion may never become a reality for many. Intentional efforts made towards clearly defining where a business wants to play (in terms of regions and segments) and with what (products, services and categories) narrows down the competitive field, placing that business ahead of the pack, Miyelani said.

At Omedia Intelligence, we embrace new challenges with an open mind by continually looking for the most effective ways to solve today and tomorrow’s business challenges relating to growth, relevance, resonance and penetration. By taking the time to understand our clients’ objectives and gathering relevant data about their challenges, customers, industry and competitors; we fast tracked our growth as an agency and the growth of our clients.

Designing With The Customer in Mind

By now we know that marketing is no longer about selling products or services anymore, the sooner we embrace this truth the better. In order to drive engagement and maintain relevance in today’s connected world, every business, regardless of size needs to ensure that their customers’ experience is interactive, valuable and seamless – putting the user at the centre of everything they do. The reason why this is important is because without seeking direct input from customers, businesses risk the expensive mistake of creating something that customers do not want. In a world where effort reduction is turning out to be a better predictor of loyalty and customer experience overtaking price as a key brand differentiator, every brand touch point is an opportunities that brands must use to influence and shape their customers’ perceptions by giving them an experience that is aligned with the idea that they want to own in their minds.

Embracing Mobile Power

Through strategic interventions and partnerships with various brands over the past 3 years, we have had the opportunity to turn many businesses around by helping them build marketing systems that guarantee results, forge meaningful relationships with their target market, increase their market relevance and penetration. It was through these projects and more that we witnessed how embracing digital and mobile power could transform businesses even in the most unfavorable economic conditions.

Our passion for helping businesses build sustainable brands remain strong. We invite local business owners to join us on a JOURNEY from NOW to NEXT.

Visit omediaintel.co.za to find out more about the strategy and design agency with a footprints in various sectors in South Africa and Zambia.