Data-driven Marketing Will Reshape E-Commerce in Africa, Says TM Global

Emma Okonji

The Creative Director of TM Global, one of the leading technology and media agencies from Africa, Elijah Affi, has stressed the need for data-driven marketing, which he said, would help to re-shape e-commerce business across Africa.

Affi made the disclosure during a plenary session at the just concluded AfricaNXT annual conference, at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos, with the theme- ‘Data Driven E-Commerce: Make BetterDecisions. Create Better Products. Delight Your Customers’.

According to him, for Africa to become the new e-commerce frontier; we must collect data (metrics) and draw concrete insights (analytics) from them to inform our strategy. 

“It’s not just about data, but analytics that drive demand for products and services. The theme will spurred conversations that challenge the boundaries of innovation within the e-commerce industry in Africa and the world,” Affi said. 

Establishing the place of metrics, Affi said: “Metrics grow your business and data drives metrics. This is because metrics are the only way to measure the effectiveness of the strategies the businesses are to employ. What has worked in the market within and outside Africa, and what is working in those research lines, shows that business can create their own paths to success. 

“The question is becoming the guarantee of effectiveness, this is where analytics comes in. After collection, metrics must be examined granularly. This analysis is what a business must run on, if it cannot be measured then it is not functional. How does the local business man guarantee that he has effective date and the quality of research done.”