Episode Three of BIG5D.TV features conversations with two African entrepreneurs about the challenges of running digital marketing organizations through the pandemic and resulting lockdowns.
Daryl van Arkel is co-founder of two South Africa-based businesses with international clientele. Vicinity Media, a location-based display advertising platform, and Location Bank, a digital listings management solution. Both businesses target multi-location brands.
Ezana Raswork is the founder and MD of Africa 118, a digital marketing platform for small businesses in East Africa.
Both entrepreneurs have suffered setbacks, as most businesses have in the pandemic. But they are powering through and finding opportunities amid the chaos, as all good entrepreneurs do.
Vicinity Media, for example, has pivoted to a sponsored content model in order to capture spend from brands that isn’t currently going into campaigns to drive traffic to physical locations.
Africa118 has shifted to something akin to a product-led growth strategy. Rather than leading with an evaluation of the prospect’s digital presence and a pitch for a replacement solution, Ezana’s team now leads with a free Google My Business offering.
“It was probably the right place for us to go anyway,” Ezana said of the pivot to GMB. “It’s a strategy that requires a bit more patience. We need to get the business in the door and then grow with them.”
Another benefit of the pivot is that the sales calls really feel more like service calls, which are better received by small businesses in this environment.
Check out the episode below for more on how the two entrepreneurs are navigating the crisis.
BIG5D.TV is an online news magazine from BigFive Digital featuring interviews with thought leaders in the Africa/Middle East local digital ecosystem. Each episode is a concise 15-20 minute package.