SMEs can beat credit squeeze with value — Experts

Illustrative picture of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)... [Credit: BusinessDay | X]

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Sales and growth experts have said Nigerian small businesses can overcome credit constraints and achieve sustainable growth by leveraging value, prioritising marketing that converts and deploying human-resource systems that enable performance.

They highlighted that SMEs can still scale if they reinforce their value proposition, adopt marketing that drives action and strengthen internal systems that translate talent into performance, speaking at the National Sales & Growth Conference 2025, held in Lagos on Wednesday and Thursday under the platform of Natella Business Academy. The event was themed ‘Unlocking Growth Through Sales Excellence and Business Development.’

Convener of the conference and Director of Natella Business Academy, Dr Joseph Edem, explained that small and medium-sized enterprises can thrive in Nigeria by adapting their value better, despite the 27 per cent benchmark interest rate, which has squeezed the sector. He said, “SMEs can leverage what value proposition they are bringing to the table, irrespective of the financial challenge and the economy.”

He said small businesses remain heavily pressured by high interest rates and economic reform but can still thrive by rethinking their approach to value and partnerships.

Edem noted that SMEs must “look at their business, look at their potential target audience, look at what is available and look at strategic partnerships… to help their business start and plant sustainability across the board over a period of time.

He cited a panel example, noting that one speaker “was unable to access funds until he put on the thinking cap and became strategic,” adopting upfront payments and margin planning to stay afloat. He stressed that “it’s doable” for SMEs willing to think strategically.

He added that many small businesses fail because “some SMEs don’t understand the dynamics of sustainability… all they’re after is just wanting to make profit,” which leads to a downturn when profit temporarily drops.

Edem said the conference emerged from his experience as a revenue driver, explaining that “no organisation can successfully scale, sustain and grow without the revenue drivers,” including sales and marketing. He added that Natella Business Academy serves as “a theatre… where business sicknesses have been resuscitated”, providing training, human capital development and support for startups.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of The RedWolf Company, Eyo Ekeno, stated that SMEs must adapt to the “evolving dynamics of marketing” to convert distracted consumers into loyal customers.

He stated, “The consumer we are selling to is distracted; he has a million options, and you have to have a laser-focused strategy for converting potential customers into loyal customers.”

Ekeno said brands must first stand out at the awareness stage. “For your brand tonality, people must know what you stand for, and you must be distinguished in the midst of all the competition,” he noted, adding that marketers must present “a clear call to action” and avoid vanity metrics.

He warned businesses against vanity metrics, which include focusing on enquiries that do not translate to sales: “If you have one million enquiries and only two of them [buy], you have gone to spend money driving volume, but you are not addressing what people are really interested in.”

He emphasised that businesses need to measure what matters, build trust, understand consumer needs and deliver exceptional experiences. Ekeno emphasised that “three out of ten people will walk away from a brand if what the brand stands for does not align with them,” while eight out of ten customers will buy based on referrals.

Additionally, a human resources expert and business consultant, Stanley Eluwa, urged businesses to integrate HR into their growth strategy if they hope to achieve sustained performance.

Eluwa said, “HR must be in the business of the business. HR must enable managers to become real managers.” Quoting Marcus Buckingham, he noted that the core responsibility of managers “is to turn talent to performance.”

He added that HR systems must help managers evolve from individual contributors to leaders of people, ensuring that employees at all levels understand the business strategy clearly enough to contribute effectively.

The HR expert added that enabling performance requires HR to “drive the cascade of business strategy and objectives to the point where even the person on the shop floor understands it well enough.”

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