September 2019

The September edition of Enterprise Africa is all about understanding customers. Every business out there claims to understand its customers, knowing exactly what they want, when they want it and how they want it. But, unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Many companies first decide what they can deliver, and then decide how, where, and when customers will be allowed to join in. Of course, those that take this route rarely manage to become industry leaders.

This month, we are looking at businesses that have a complete and total understanding of customers. They are flexible and nimble, and can adapt to the changing needs of the customer. And they don’t push their ideas onto the customer – they deliver solutions to problems that exist.

Moosa Manjra, CEO at Hello Paisa, tells Enterprise Africa that the company, and the Hello Group, exists to use technology to solve problems for its clients. “Right from the beginning, everything has been focussed around the customer – we take into account what they like, what they don’t like, their choice of language, and we go to great lengths to not only solve a problem but find out how much more we can do for a customer,” he says.

Dennis Gamsy, Founder of GIB Insurance, explains that his company leaves no stone unturned in the insurance market, all in an effort to deliver a comprehensive service for clients.

Swartland, the Western Cape-based building materials company, is diversifying its product range to suit the needs of a changing customer base, and this is helping the company to grow in new areas.

Read these stories and more to understand why you must have a full understanding of your customer if you are to succeed in business.

Tell us what your business is doing to get closer to customers. We’re online @EnterpriseAfri1 and on LinkedIn.