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Lesson 3: Channels that reach your market

About 10 minutes

The best message fails if it arrives in the wrong place. In many U.S. markets, email newsletters and LinkedIn drive business-to-business sales. In Nigeria, phone calls and WhatsApp are common for business, including voice notes. Email is often kept for formal documents such as quotes and contracts.

Why it matters

Your buyers judge how easy you are to work with by how easy you are to reach. A website with only a U.S. phone number and a contact form can look distant or hard to trust.

Channels to consider:

  • WhatsApp Business: many buyers expect to message a supplier directly. A business profile with your hours, catalog and a quick greeting message makes you easy to reach.

  • Phone: a local phone number, or a clearly listed international number with calling hours in West Africa Time, shows you plan to be available.

  • Social media: many businesses and consumers use social platforms to discover products. Check which ones your specific audience uses rather than assuming.

  • Local radio and trade events: for some sectors and regions, radio and in-person events still reach decision makers well.

  • Distributors and agents: in many settings, a trusted local partner is your most important channel. Your marketing should support them, not compete with them.

Localize the details. Show prices in naira (NGN) where you can, and explain taxes, duties and delivery costs. Use day/month/year dates, the metric system where buyers expect it, and phone numbers in international format. List your response hours in West Africa Time (UTC+1).

Time your campaigns. Plan around public holidays, Ramadan and major religious festivals. A launch during a holiday week may get little attention, and a hard sales push during a religious observance can feel insensitive.

Example: a WhatsApp Business greeting. This is the automatic message a new contact sees:

Good day, and thank you for contacting Prairie Pumps.

We are glad to hear from you.

Our team replies Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

West Africa Time. Please share your name, company and the product you are interested in, and we will respond shortly.

**Good practice:** Name a real person who will answer WhatsApp messages, and set a reply standard you can keep. A fast, warm reply often matters more than a polished brochure.

Prairie Pumps is a fictional company used for illustration.

From DealDialect (dealdialect.com) by Ayomide Adeyeye, licensed CC BY 4.0.