You can have the best product in Nigeria, the biggest shop in Lagos, and 50 staff. If nobody knows, nobody buys. If nobody buys, you have no business. You have a hobby with overhead.
Marketing is not a department. It is the lifeline of entrepreneurship. Production creates value. Marketing delivers that value to the market and brings cash back. Without it, your business is on oxygen. With it, your business breathes.
*1. Marketing Starts Before the Product*
Marketing is not “posting on Instagram.” That is promotion. Marketing starts before the product exists. It answers four questions: Who has the problem? What solution will they pay for? Why should they buy from you? How will you reach them and keep them? If you cannot answer these, you are not ready to start. Entrepreneurship without marketing is farming without rain. You can till the soil all year. Nothing grows.
*2. Three Hard Truths*
First, revenue solves 90% of business problems. Sales is the only function that brings money in. Every other function takes money out. Marketing feeds sales. Marketing keeps the heart beating.
Two tailors in Iyin-Ekiti prove it. Both skilled. Tailor A waits in his shop. Tailor B uses WhatsApp status, partners with wedding planners, and delivers to Ado-Ekiti. Tailor A makes 60k monthly. Tailor B makes 700k. Same skill. Different marketing.
Second, the market does not owe you attention. Nigeria has 200 million people and 41 million MSMEs. Your customer sees 5,000 ads daily. If you are silent, you are dead. Marketing buys attention. Attention buys trust. Trust buys sales. Flutterwave became a unicorn because it marketed clearly to African businesses and built trust with developers. Thousands can code. Few can sell.
Third, marketing reveals product flaws early. When you market before you produce, the market talks back. You learn what price is too high and what feature is useless. Marketing saves you from wasting capital. Paystack spoke to 100 businesses before writing code. They learned merchants wanted fast settlement, not just cheap pricing. They built for that. Result: $200M exit to Stripe.
*3. The C.R.E.A.M Framework*
Use this whether you sell garri or software. Marketing brings the cream.
*C – Customer Clarity*: Do not sell to “everybody.” Define one human being. If you sell skincare, do not say “women.” Say “Ada, 29, banker in Lekki, earns 400k, struggles with acne, wants confidence for client meetings, buys on Instagram after 8pm.” Now you know where to find Ada and what to say.
*R – Reason to Believe*: Why you? In a street where 10 people sell what you sell, your reason to believe is survival. Win by being faster, cheaper through better process, or different. A food vendor in Ibadan sells only “Diabetic-Friendly Amala.” She owns that lane. LifeBank wins with “blood in 55 minutes,” not “we deliver blood.”
*E – Engage Where They Gather*: Fish where the fish are. Gen Z lives on TikTok and WhatsApp Status. Professionals live on LinkedIn and Google. Mass market trusts radio, Facebook, and market agents. B2B buys through meetings and referrals. Pick two channels. Master them for 90 days. Shallow presence everywhere equals no sales anywhere.
*A – Attract with Story*: People do not buy products. They buy better versions of themselves. Use PAS: Problem, Agitate, Solution. “Tired of customers saying ‘I will get back to you’? Each ‘get back to you’ is rent unpaid. Our closing script helped 300 realtors close 70% faster.” PiggyVest did not sell “savings app.” They sold “Stop spending your salary in 7 days.”
*M – Measure, Multiply, or Murder*: Track two numbers. CAC is Customer Acquisition Cost. LTV is Lifetime Value. LTV must be 3x CAC or you are scaling poverty. If you spend 20k on ads for 10 customers, CAC is 2k. If each spends 5k once and never returns, LTV is 5k. Ratio is 2.5x. Bad. Reduce CAC or increase LTV. If you cannot, murder that ad.
*4. Five Mistakes That Kill Entrepreneurs*
Selling before listening. You produce 1,000 units nobody asked for, then beg people to buy. Market first. Produce second.
Branding without sales. A fine logo will not pay NEPA bill. Sales first, swag later.
One-off marketing. You post today, disappear for three weeks. Marketing is farming. You water daily.
Competing on price alone. Someone will always be cheaper. Compete on speed, trust, or experience.
Ignoring old customers. It costs 5x more to get a new customer than to keep one. Retention is the cheapest marketing.
*5. Your 30-Day Launch Plan*
Week 1: Write your Customer Ada. Define your reason to believe in one sentence. Pick two channels.
Week 2: Create 10 pieces of content using PAS. Set up WhatsApp Business and payment link.
Week 3: Post daily. Spend 1k daily on ads. Goal is 100 conversations. Ask, “What almost stopped you from buying?”
Week 4: Make an offer with a deadline. Calculate CAC and LTV. Keep what worked. Kill what failed.
Do this for three months. You will not recognize your business.
*6. Final Word*
In the beginning, do not hire a marketer and go to sleep. You are the first marketer. You know the story. No one can sell your vision like you. Learn it, then hire to scale it.
Production without marketing is burial. Marketing without production is fraud. You need both. But if I must choose which comes first, I choose marketing. The market will tell you what to produce. Your warehouse will never tell you who to sell to.
Marketing is the lifeline. Hold it tight. About the Author
Olubunmi Oluwadare is a renowned expert in entrepreneurship development, a National Business Development Service Provider (NBDSP), and business growth strategies. As the founder of www.uni-preneur.com and www.getajob.ng, he has empowered thousands of entrepreneurs and job seekers across Nigeria and Africa. As Chairman of BEEXO GROUP www.beexogroup.com, he continues to drive business growth and innovation in the region. His book, “I SEE MONEY IN AFRICA”, highlights the vast opportunities for entrepreneurs in Africa.
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