A Public Employment Programme expert, Dr Simon Desmond, has urged Nigeria and other African governments to design structured, viable and sustainable programmes that would providing employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths.
He said that only a well taught-out programmes in such direction can help cushion the many challenges faced by the larger society today. He noted that no one need to be told how the ripple effects of unemployment and inflation, are the prevailing crime and criminal actions that bedevils Nigeria and many other countries in Africa.
Speaking at a zoom conference meeting tagged: “Children Should Go To School”, organized by a non governmental organizations, For A Better Future, Dr Simon who joined the meeting from the United States of America, urged Nigerian Government to take seriously the state of the rising unemployment in the country; think and design sustainable programmes that would change the narratives.
He noted that beside reviving many important companies including refineries, Nigerian government can take advantage of the digital world and introduce programmes that would give Nigerians upper hand in retail businesses. He stressed that the number of jobs government can help create through ICT is uncountable if the right steps and actions are taken. While he said that Nigeria has the population and market where technological innovations thrive, he hinted that government can actually turn situations around for better for the citizens.
His words; “The prevalence crisis in the world today, seems to have severe effect in Africa especially in Nigeria. But despite its alarming effect to businesses and the living condition of people, there are viable business opportunities out there Nigeria government and its sister countries can groom their citizens to utilize and the problems of unemployment will reduce.
“Using the Information and Communications Technology which is the most effective and efficient tool used by successive business, there is a huge investment opportunity in retail business. This is because, retail business is a huge viable business opportunity that gross in great profit for investors and business developers.
“With ICT as a mechanism to drive sales, retail business in Fashion, Agriculture, Tech goods and even Marketing etc, is indeed a great and profitable business opportunity for countries with such population as Nigeria can begin to think of dominating.”
Also, Dr Desmond admonished prospective small scale investors and business developers to go into businesses that utilizes ICT in retail and marketing operations.
“Utilising the following system of operations; Customer Relationship Management Softwares (CRM), Optimize Points of sale by creating chatbots for customers, Marketing your products more during economic hardship, Optimize point of sale by creating mobile apps for the company, Feedbacks mechanism to enhance the sales process, the possibilities of investment in retail business to succeed is limitless.” He added.
He went on to explain; “CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE: for instance; Companies that seeks ways to out-think and out-plan their competitors are companies who lead others by example and this can be achieved with customer relationship management (CRM)
“Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) is technology used to manage customer interactions and communications. With a Customer relationship management (CRM) solution, a business can store and organize all customer data from social media, e-mail, and website interactions, as well as from calls, chats, and text messages, for later retrieval and reporting. Your business will be able to track customers, create detailed reports from data, and track important information that you can use to make important decisions that can drive sales
“Besides keeping your sales team organized, CRM systems can also help your company gain more opportunities by growing your customer base and you know the more customers you get, the more sales you are likely to make.
:OPTIMIZE POINT OF SALE BY CREATING CHATBOTS FOR CUSTOMERS. Chatbots are a way for companies to connect and have discussions with their clients. They can automate chatbots to give predetermined responses based on a customer’s inquiry and can direct them to resources, solutions or a member of your sales team.
“Chatbots are already being used by businesses like Uber and Facebook Messenger. These chatbots are designed to engage customers in an easy way, which means they don’t require much interaction from the user. The chatbot has been developed as an automated response system that can be accessed through apps, websites or other digital devices.
“There are many benefits that come with using chatbots in your company’s marketing strategy: You can save time by not having to manually respond to all inquiries from potential customers who may not have access to your website or social media platforms and we know a happy customer is definitely a returning customer. A satisfied customer is definitely an advertising fan thereby boosting more sales.
“You can use this tool as an alternative form of communication with customers who may not have access to another medium such as phone calls or emails because it doesn’t require them to leave their homes/offices.
“Consumers are restless beings. They’re always looking for better and more favourable options so its left for the company to help them find their products and services and probably choose them.
“Businesses that fail to market themselves correctly will suffer from a lack of brand awareness, causing them to be overlooked by consumers who have found something else more attractive or interesting. This type of situation has happened repeatedly in the past, leading to limited sales opportunities for small businesses that could otherwise be thriving with increased profit margins.
“Marketing is an essential part of any business’s success because it allows companies to reach out directly to potential customers through advertising campaigns that provide information on their products or services as well as potential customer leads who may be interested in purchasing these items or services at some point in the future once they’ve learned more about them through other means (such as word-of-mouth recommendations). By doing so, businesses can help themselves increase their profits overall because they’ll have more sales opportunities available.”
End.
