document
The best stories don’t wait for the customer to buy. They plant seeds in the hearts of future buyers, long before the first purchase.
That’s how storytelling drives growth
Before retention. Before acquisition.
There is a narrative your user must believe.
Especially in African markets, growth isn’t always about features.
Most brands aren’t failing because of bad products…
They’re failing because they’re telling the wrong story at the wrong moment.
Because growth doesn’t always start with ads or signing influencers.
It starts with the story your user is secretly telling themselves.
The storyline they've dreamed about or believe will be theirs someday soon
It’s more about trust, timing, and the story that earns both.
This grid maps it.
#brandstoryteller #brandstorytelling #productmarketer #brandcommunications
image
Signing influencers, writing emails, announcement videos etc.. Launches are more than just curating brand assets...
Most market entries don’t fail because the product is weak.
They fail because the strategy was built on assumptions rather than accuracy.
In African fintech, especially, I’ve seen brands spend months planning a “launch,” only to discover the market wasn’t reacting the way their decks predicted.
Not because the market wasn’t ready, but the strategy wasn’t aligned with how people behave in real life.
After studying several rollouts across multiple markets, here’s what I’ve learned:
Markets don’t respond to marketing first. they react to trust, behavior, culture, and timing.
And I've found that these 5 things should be Top of mind:
1. Cultural: What signals trust here?
2. Behavioral: What habits dominate financial decisions?
3. Economic: What real spending rhythms shape affordability?
4. Emotional: What anxieties shape money choices?
5. Competitive: Who owns mindshare and why?
When you see a market through these five lenses, your strategy shifts from projection to precision.
Because you don’t truly “enter” a market by announcing it.
You earn your place in its daily life through accuracy, empathy, and behavioral alignment. This is the part of growth I enjoy the most, the intersection of psychology, strategy, and execution.
#GrowthStrategy #Fintech #MarketEntry #BehavioralDesign #StrategyLeadership #fintechstartups #africanfintech
image
This post is for #Headhunters, #recruiters, #hiringmanagers, #Talentacquisition, et al., others please keep scrolling😏. T for thanks. ✌🏾
Now that I have your attention.
Please, can any of you explain the sudden "BSC in Marketing" required for senior marketing roles in Nigeria? Knowing fully well that everyone in Senior capacity today was either serving or was already mid-level when Nigerian (the few who did) Universities introduced Marketing as a discipline.
I'm VERY CURIOUS as to why everyone suddenly wants a certification over hard-honed skills and experiences that cannot be taught in classrooms.
In my experience, none of the courses (save for tools) I've taken prepared me to deal with the Nigerian market; they taught me foundational knowledge but nothing I can directly apply to the Nigerian market; my dexterity was honed on the job. Earned by being perpetually curious and "being a pest" to internal stakeholders and line managers.
Also, I see it for some other roles, Product management, UI/UX design etc..
So genuine question: what's with the new trend? I know folks who studied architecture, mathematics, law et al and they're incredibly talented marketers.
Perpetually curious
A girl seeking answers.
#hiringinnigeria #hrmanagers #talentacquisition #recruitment #hrbp #
image
People don’t buy products. They buy who they get to become. They buy the promise that the picture in their heads can be brought to life by YOU.
Storytelling is a conversion engine when done right.
People don’t respond to features; they react to clarity, emotion, and relevance.
The most powerful brands don’t “describe what they do.”
They articulate what people can become when they use their product.
That’s why storytelling sits at the intersection of:
• product positioning
• behavioral insight
• identity
• trust
• retention
When users see themselves in the narrative, they buy.
When they see their future in the narrative, they stay.
The art of taking a complex value proposition and translating it into something people instantly understand and instinctively want is what makes for great brand storytelling.
If your story isn’t moving people, your glossy graphics and sizzling videos won’t either.
image
I abandoned my cart on the CDcare (Techstars '22) app, and they made sure to show me they really "CARE"
After witnessing their app serve a friend of mine seamlessly, I jumped on the bandwagon out of curiosity.
Scrolled their catalogue.
Added a few items... then,
Abandoned cart.
That’s where trouble came calling. 😅
They called twice that week, and then some.
The push notifications I received afterwards changed in tone and messaging, and it made me smile.
If I’d actually needed the items, there’s a 90% chance I’d have checked out.
Even after I told one of the agents I wasn’t buying, a few weeks later, they called again.
Not to sell, to remind me.
Ease of use.
Flexible payments.
Trust.
Now, this isn’t the perfect funnel,
but it’s something most brands forget:
They didn’t stop talking after the conversion "failed".
They persisted, and it felt human.
Retention isn’t perfection; it’s persistence with empathy.
CDcare (Techstars '22) gets a solid B for effort,
because at least they tried to talk back.
Every user journey is a conversation.
Most brands just forget how to keep it going.
Have you ever used an app that just made you feel seen?
#UserRetention #CustomerExperience #BehavioralDesign #Fintech #GrowthMarketing #BrandStrategy
