March 2024

The theme of the March edition is knowing your customer and understanding your market. There are simply not enough companies that make the effort to thoroughly and deeply explore the people they sell to, and therefore do not learn what customers truly want and need. Sure, they look internally, and have a great knowledge of what they can offer, but is it what clients really want?

Air Blow Fans is an engineering and technology company that manufactures fans for the Southern African mining industry. Researched, designed, built, tested, and distributed from its site in Springs, the company does not come with preconceived ideas about what clients need. MD Gavin Ratner and team build an understanding of the environment and develop solutions to fit each unique situation. This, he says, is what gives the company an advantage over global companies that enter the local market.

Quickmart, a Kenyan grocery retailer that is aiming for the country’s top spot, has always focused on what and how clients want in store. By transforming the market to be concentrated on fresh products, in a convenient and easy atmosphere, the company has taken market share aggressively. Local knowledge of where the best sites are, and how customers want to interact, has helped Quickmart grow to more than 60 stores and 7000 people.

Concord Retail Solutions, a leader in retail hardware manufacture and installation, has proven its ability to understand clients intimately. The company has developed energy efficient products that mitigate against loadshedding, while importing world-class refrigeration units that do not allow products to spoil if the power goes off. It’s not a one-size-fit-all approach, and is bespoke for each client and each site.

Without a true collaborative relationship with clients, companies risk fitting what they do into a set-up that cannot accommodate it. And that’s not good business.

Get in touch and tell us how closely you work with your clients, and how these relationships build better and stronger. We’re online at LinkedIn.