About Strategy, Technology and Koko King
I feel like I have a vested stake in Koko King … it’s probably because he is Ghanaian, he cleverly solved a problem that has being there for a long while and he got featured on BBC .view the video here (…This allows me bragging rights)
For those that don’t know what Mr Albert Osei and his Koko King crew do, they provide on street breakfast/porridge sales with great distribution across Ghana. They are in fact the star bucks of Ghana. They are at every street corner
In recent times there have being a number of Copy Cats in his space , not as widely distributed but they are definitely looking to make a dent in his profits, after all they are selling to the exact same customer segment , early morning commuters .
I give it 6 months to 1 year till it becomes a real problem for his profits ….
I have found myself thinking if I was Mr Koko King, what I l would do to ensure that unlike blackberry I don’t create the market and then have others take it away from me …
Pause***
My Job is about using to technology to ensure a competitive advantage; I am not about just building great technology products. I am that one, who builds a self-service channels(web/mobile) not because everyone has to have one but so I can reduce customer care cost by 30% and improve customer care at the same time :)
As you can imagine I think strategy and tech in all I do.
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So if I was Mr Koko King how would I strategically differentiate myself to ensure that I don’t become the Ghana Blackberry?
Customer retention /Loyalty
Simplest route is the loyalty card *everyone does them* buy 5 get 1 free sort of thing
Buy Forward: Customers can pre-order a min in advance and get delivery in their offices at the time they ask for it. E.g. Kwaku gets his Koko (porridge) delivered at 8.05 every Tuesday and Friday ,The the more you pre-oder the larger the discount …have us seen the Hello Food App....Talk to them
Customer Feedback: Actively Collect Customer Feedback on products and what should be added or removed and improved making you customers feel s part… maybe talk to Nandi mobile (They have a great product for doing exactly that!!!)
Get to know you Customer:Star bucks style, collect information on their preferences and use that to personalize the experience.
Having the sales person know that I like wheat lukewarm with Boflot 3 times a week, means I won’t have to ask.
Customer Sign up and Alerts on their Mobile for deals and new products
Corporate Sales
Corporate Sales: If you are not doing so, how about getting a corporate sales team, to sell bulk deals to Companies that don’t have canteens
Work the Website
Turn the website into a sales tool not just marketing tool let people order and pay for Koko king on your website ,let them give you feedback , let them talk about their favorite porridge , create a cult community !!!
Finding a Vendor
Use Google Map and GPRS to enable users find the closest vendor via the mobile , they should have a phone number to call the sales person to make their order.
Strategic Partnerships
Is there a company that complements you efforts that you could create joint breakfast products around?
Oh by the way I have never bought a Koko King, I don’t like porridge J
Seriously as an indigenous Ghanaian company ,we all have vested interest in your success …Please do
Your Truly
Ethel Cofie
Hmmm.
I think you should consider consulting for some of these SMEs…