Amos Ngobe, Commercial District Manager at Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, is driving local economic growth through innovative thinking and sustainable partnerships.
Reflecting on his journey as Commercial District Manager at Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA), Amos Ngobe shares that seeing their customers achieve ongoing success is what motivates him, as it affirms they are heading in the right direction.
“Seeing the customers we have helped and developed, today owning a supermarket is rewarding. There’s guys who started as hawkers, we came into their lives helped with the trade applications and the necessary skills to manage a business. Now that person has a fully operational supermarket.”
Ngobe emphasised that prioritising their customers has played a crucial role in their business strategy. He noted that involving customers in the planning phase fosters a sense of partnership, which in turn encourages more innovative ideas. “So what we’re doing now is that instead of sitting alone in my office, I would go to the customer and together we would develop a joint business plan. So I would give my input, the customer would do the same, and then together we formulate an execution plan,” Ngobe mentioned.
For Ngobe and his team, involving customers in the planning phase is just the beginning. He explains that they also support their customers by providing them with the essential training needed to successfully run their outlets. According to him, “we always align our commercial objects with our customers’ needs. That simply means that our marketing programmes are tailored to our customers’ marketing needs. We also have a huge investment in developing the local market. For example, we have Grow My Business, where we empower small outlets with the necessary skills and knowledge on how to operate their business. We also provide signatures for their outlets and place coolers as well.”
Given how competitive the market is, Ngobe mentions how important it is to stay ahead of their competition by initiating innovative strategies. “I have seen the rise of digital integration in informal trade. So, what we have done is establish WhatsApp ordering. So our customers can easily place an order on WhatsApp, and in 10 minutes the order will be captured, they would then receive an order number and a date of delivery,” he also touches on how important it is to build and maintain trust with their customers by establishing methods to keep them happy. “We have also upsized our cans from 400ml to 500ml without adding an increase.”
While discussing their marketing campaigns, Ngobe shared a recent campaign that was warmly received across the country, bringing smiles to many faces, saying “the Share a Coke campaign really brought a lot of excitement in the market, it showed real engagement from people. You would get people rushing to outlets to purchase the Coke that has their name. Social media has also played a huge role as more people post with the cans that have their names.”
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