Salami Harps on Proactive Data, Open Data Source

Oluchi Chibuzor

The Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (ECA), Dr. Doyin Salami, has stressed the need for firms to understand consumer spending pattern and their socio-economic income spread through investment in data.

This, according to him would help firms gain competitive advantage as well as to attract more consumers.
The Chief Executive Officer, Kainos Edge Consulting, stated this at a breakfast meeting organised by Redwood consulting, with the theme, “Power of Consumer Data”, held in Lagos recently.

He said aside the demographic changes, income preferences, value, decision making process of generation XYZ would affects every business products and services.

He also said with Nigeria’s population doubling every 30 years and with half of its working population expected to be within the group in the next 20 years, it gives room for appropriate knowledge of the market.

The economist added that incomplete, lack of timely and unavailability of data in the country had led to huge problem in the capacity to use data across many public sector, decision-making institutions.

“The decision-making architecture of every organisation must incorporate data analysts to interplay its own peculiar data with modern trends affecting local markets.
“Indigenous corporate organisations must understand the imperative of data investment as few lack the capacity to use it into decision making tools as done by multinationals in the country.

“I wonder the risk companies carry without knowing the sectors their customers earn their income is where 62 per cent of Nigerians makes their income every day. This provides a foundation to lay corporate specifics, brands and products,” he said.
Salami also stressed the need for the creation of cost-sharing platforms to reduce cost of data gathering by most firms in the country.

“In my firm, we have invested over N100 million towards this kind of initiatives as mass personalisation would require open source technology and technology would drive corporate interaction with customers,” he added.

On his part, the Managing Director, Redwood consulting, a marketing solution company, Mrs. Hannah Oyebanjo, said as an insight-led marketing advisory service company, providing marketing, communication management services and capacity development to businesses across sectors, it was committed to providing entry marketing strategies to brands.

“We drive profitable and sustainable business growth using insight and effective marketing strategies and campaigns to unearth deep knowledge of the consumer and shopper environment, market or segment and develop strategies that make the difference,” she explained.

In a panel session, titled, ‘winning the channels series,’ data experts agreed that its predictability, trends and opportunities should make companies understand the evolution of consumer behavior, consumption patterns, location and channels to create insights on how to gain fair share of trade.

“There must be a complete evolution from reactive to proactive response in the entire market value chain as data is useless if there is no insight.

“Nigerian companies should treat data ethically in compliance with local and international data protection policies,” she added.