People may not need what you’re selling right now.
The Outbreak of COVID-19 has been a real hit to businesses and individuals. Companies are shutting down and staff are being asked to work from home or take a pay cut or no pay at all until the pandemic is over.
Now the situation is particularly dicey in a slow economy such as that of Nigeria. We are presently the Poverty capital of the world with an unemployment rate of 6.11% and an inflation rate of 12.20%. What this means is the price of goods and services are presently high and as a nation, we cannot afford a rise in unemployment.
Sadly, this is the reality of COVID-19. The country is on a verge of a shutdown, there’s panic buying and the law of demand and supply is at play.
“But people are not buying from me”
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, humans have five needs.
· The Physiological needs: This includes basic needs such as food, water, air, clothing, shelter, and reproduction (fertility). Once these needs have been satisfied, a person could move to the next level which is a need for safety.
· Safety Needs: This includes needs for employment, financial security, health, and property. At this point, people want some form of personal security. Once these are solved, they can move to the next level.
· Love and Belonging: Here comes the need for friendship, intimacy, family, and a sense of belonging.
As our parents would say, “You have a job, you have a house, when are you getting married?”
· Esteem: The satisfaction of the need for love and belonging brings the next step of needs. The need for respect, products that boost self-esteem, status, need for freedom, and recognition. Accomplishments are prioritized at this stage.
· Self-Actualization needs: This is the peak of human needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested in fulfilling their potential.
With COVID-19, people have reverted to their basic needs. People want food hence the panic buying. Clothing not so much since we’re all stuck at home.
Here are a few questions people are asking
“how conducive is my house for isolation?”
“how do I survive if I don’t get paid for April?”
“how do I store all these foods I bought?”
“will I be alone until the end of this pandemic?”
PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING FROM YOU BECAUSE YOUR BUSINESS DOESN’T ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.
So ask yourself, is there a way my products satisfy these needs? I’m sure there is. You just need to figure it out.
Example: The government announced a slow shutdown in Lagos and classified Electronics as nonessential. But that’s not true now, is it?
Recently, just this week, my stabilizer stopped working. No stabilizer, no fridge, as we all know how unstable light is in Nigeria.
So how do I stock up without a fridge? I needed a stabilizer, an electronic.
Mine was stabilizer, others could be a fan or light inverter or diesel.
Communicate the benefits of your products to answer the questions people are asking. You may not be selling a product that directly solves the physiological or safety needs but your product may be an enhancer.
If I was selling stabilizer right now, I would say things like, “Practice social-distancing, reduce the frequency of shopping by stocking up your fridge with essential food items. Our 2000 watts’ stabilizer ensures your fridge stays on with the right voltage”
A fan vendor may say, “stuck at home with no light? buy our rechargeable fan, it can last up to six hours without light”
People are not buying from you because they do not know your products satisfy their present needs. Communicate that it does.
People may not need what you’re selling right now, sell their basic needs.
