Forget Timekeeping

Expect the unexpected, Nigeria will keep you on your toes from the moment you touch the ground.

It started on my first visit to Lagos. My week was fully booked - a stand at an exhibition, partnerhsip meetings as well as training and meetings with local representatives. One of my local representatives told me on the first day that he had arranged for me to have a TV interview the next day. You can imagine the panic in my head. No way I had the time for a TV interview, besides I had no interest in appearing on TV, that is not my thing, I prefer to stay in the background. But! I lost that battle, so here is the uncut version.

I have learned so much during my visits to Nigeria, in this article I will share some of my learnings:

Be firm, not rude - I have been brought up to be polite and respectful to everyone. When I went to Nigeria the first time I was both, but that did not work. From my experience, I have learned that is seen as being weak. I had to change my communication style to be firmer. I will say this, I have worked with those who have been a lot to Europe, with them, this strategy is not needed, they are used to the European communication style. Therefore assess the people you liaise with, trust me, they proudly will tell you if they have studied or lived abroad.

Personal relationships with you is a status symbol - In Nigeria status is important, which to me was an odd concept initially. Reason being, titles and money does not impress me, something I have been taught from a young age. In Nigeria, if you have money, you treat certain people badly. I will never forget one time at a hotel, I was sitting having a coffee. This man was having a meal, he was screaming and insulting the waiter. I wanted to go and tell the man to treat the waiter respectfully, he was only doing his job. Then I remembered the unwritten status rule in Nigeria. When it comes to those you are doing business with, they want to impress you, for example by taking you out to dinner, be able to say they have your number, and bring you to events for example. I went along to a sports day for one of my representatives' child. I went along to strengthening the relationship, which resulted in a substantial increase in revenue.

Digital and social are as popular as print - Nigeria is very well connected and most people have about three mobile phones. When I first got there I thought that was odd, it didn’t take long until I realised the practicality in this, the mobile networks go down throughout the day. But despite this, they still heavily rely on print ads, printed brochures, and fliers. They want something tangible they can take home. To avoid printing and shipping costs in the UK, I started printed locally, which resulted in substantial cost savings.

Forget timekeeping - Swedes are known for being pedantic about time, so am I. Well, this went out the window fast in Nigeria, they can be even 1.5 hours late for a meeting, show up and not even apologise for their lateness. Nothing you can do about it, but to accept it. If I am really honest it is something I accept is part of the culture, but so hard for me to embrace.

I will share more about Nigeria, this is a country where you never stop learning and think on your feet. The level of innovation and entrepreneurship is amazing. I will never forget the first time I saw a young man sitting by a table by the road, had an extension cord with several sockets. He had placed mobile phone chargers from different brands in the sockets, people then had to pay for charging their phone. Conveniently he was located next to a bar, all about location! A homemade charging station powered by a generator, next to a bar, if that is not innovation and entrepreneurship, I do not know what is.

As ever, thank you for taking the time to read about my intrnational marketing learnings.