9mobile has yet again affirmed its support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the second edition of The Hack for entrepreneurs which was held at Maha Event Centre, Area 8 Recreation Park, Garki, Abuja, with hundreds of young entrepreneurs in attendance eager to learn how to expand their businesses.
Director, Customer Care, 9mobile, Ehimare Omoike, and Sales and marketing expert Tricia Olufemi-Olumide (TriciaBiz) were the main facilitators.
TriciaBiz lectured on ‘Leveraging Online Platforms to Grow Your Business.’ She discussed ways small businesses can be more visible on the Internet, adding that 63% of all shopping journeys start online. The sales expert explained why entrepreneurs must be deliberate and selective in picking websites and social media platforms to promote their services and products. She also reiterated the importance of adequately tagging images and writing good captions.
“Businesses, whether onsite or online, must understand the diversity of online platforms. Two billion people shop online, and we know that the data doesn’t even cover most of those in Africa. SMEs must take advantage of those numbers and know they don’t need brick-and-mortar stores to earn a living. I want all the participants to understand how to use online platforms to win,” she said.
Speaking on ‘Customer Management Strategy,’ Omoike explained that customer acquisition might be easy but retaining and turning them into advocates is more critical and challenging. He also highlighted the need for entrepreneurs to understand and use their knowledge of seasonality, market segmentation, and business applications to have a competitive edge over competitors.
According to him, “A lot of small business owners are struggling with decision-making. The Hack is where they learn how to optimize and grow their businesses free of charge. At 9mobile, we are creating an organic eco-system that will provide support to and expose them to our business applications, offerings, and products to support these SMEs”
The Hack seeks to create a platform to support and promote entrepreneurs in the SME space. It is a business and networking mentorship program facilitated by business experts who share business ideas with participants and groom them to scale their businesses. The first edition was held in Lagos
