Impacts of marketing in Kenya

 Marketing has negatively affected socio-economic development in Kenya in a number of ways:

     Price mechanism has negatively impacted rural poor and slum dwellers in urban areas i.e. the free market has led to high prices of goods and services making the less fortunate unable to afford. most product produced by companies. The products are packed in big sizes which the poor and slum dwellers cannot afford and if packed in smaller sizes the production cost still makes the prices unaffordable.

     Poor distribution of products has resulted in hunger in some areas and waste of unprocessed foods in others. Intermediaries in the distribution channel cause delays in the distribution process leading to the products going bad before they reach the consumer.

     Inadequate or total lack of market information has adversely affected small-scale farmers and micro and small scale (jua kali) firms. Lack of marketing information or strategic marketing intelligence makes it hard for the SME to know what the market needs are and any other changes that might be happening in the future. Firms that do not have well established marketing research departments are likely to suffer due the ever changing external environment.

     Inadequate consumer education by marketers has impacted negatively on consumers who are not willing to consume products which are not their traditional staple foods. For instance in insurance products, most people buy the cover without proper knowledge of its legal implications when it comes to compensation. The client might not get what they expected which is as a result of not being provided with adequate information by the marketer. In the case of Credit cards, clients or subscribers use the cards without proper education and control leading to impulse buying.

     International marketing has negatively affected Kenya’s exports especially in primary goods and resulted in relatively higher import prices.

Increased competition has led to demise of some firms in Kenya. Examples? For instance in the transport industry there is high level competition which sometimes unethical. This has led to some companies leaving the market i.e. the Akamba Bus Service, Shaggy bus services, Stage coach amongst others.

     Increased pollution and degradation of physical environment (because of failure to adopt green marketing strategies).There is high growth of ICT in Kenya which has led to increased use of electronic gadgets. This has led to mass e-waste dumping which is currently posing a great challenge to the government when it comes to their disposal.

Importance of Marketing to socioeconomic development

     Marketing creates employment, as a profession it can create jobs like advertising manager, public relations manager, media planning manager, sales strategy manager, brand managers etc.

     Marketing raises people’s standards of living, marketing can raise the standard of living of both the marketer and the consumers since they will have proper knowledge of the product they are consuming through marketing.

     Marketing pays for most of the entertainment and news that the mass media provides to the public. Through the huge marketing budget that most established companies have, marketing is able to pay for all its personnel and activities that goes around the marketing processes.  

     Marketing facilitates international trade , through marketing international companies are able to find markets for their products and services, many firms are now able to compete both locally and internationally through marketing of their products and services.

     Marketing leads to improvement of infrastructure .i e for banking industry where they have more teller points, more services like mobile banking, cash point to attract more clients to their services and products.

     Marketing improves social economic status of the citizens, marketing helps to raise the standards of living of the marketers as professionals and it also improves the lives of the consumers as they are now consume more competitive products and enjoy better quality services.

     Information generation is a strategic role of marketing. Through marketing, information about the product i.e. benefits, usage, expiry dates, is given which makes the consumer knowledgeable about the product. Marketing departments can also have their marketing intelligence/research units gather information on what is happening in the market. 

     Marketing makes possible the availability of the much needed foreign exchange. By engaging in both export and import trade a country is able to have a balanced foreign account thereby meeting its foreign exchange needs.
     Marketing provides incentives for innovativeness, inventions and efficiency.

     Marketing provides entrepreneurial talents/ opportunities especially for the small-scale market intermediaries. Marketing as a profession has created many entrepreneurs, e.g. in the media industry we have many advertising agencies owned by many Kenyan entrepreneurs like Aegeis and Saracen.  

     Marketing leads to accumulation of capital through enhanced savings, for instance in the financial sector i.e. the banks and insurance companies give very good incentives to attract many client to do savings with them, e.g.  Faulu bank, this has been achieved through marketing of these products and services.

     Marketing stimulates demand which in turn enhances production and increased utilization of resources. Through sales promotions, advertising, CSR, PR activities product and services consumption is highly enhanced. This helps in providing information about the product and in turn influencing the consumer purchasing decisions.

Kenya vision 2030 political pillar

Political Pillar

The Political Pillar of Vision 2030 objective is to move to the future as one nation and envisions a democratic system that is issue based; people centered, results oriented, and are accountable to the public. It targets five main areas: The rule of law – the Constitution of Kenya, electoral and political processes, democracy and public service delivery, transparency and accountability, and security, peace building and conflict management

Rule of Law. Kenya’s 2010 constitution provides for increased accountability and transparency to combat pervasive corruption, but no top officials have been successfully prosecuted for corruption since 2002

Electoral and Political Processes. The first application of technology in the 2013 elections aimed to guarantee the integrity of the voter register through the use of a Biometric Voter Registration system that was acquired at a cost of 95 million USD.

Democracy and Public Service Delivery

Transparency and Accountability. The police, the judiciary, and the Ministry of Defense have been identified as some of the country’s most corrupt institutions. Although the judiciary is independent, the courts are understaffed and underfinanced, leading to delays.

Security, Peace-Building and Conflict Management. In September 2013, it suffered its largest terrorist attack since the 1998 U.S. embassy bombing.

Kenya Vision 2030 social pillar

Social Pillar

The Social Pillar of Vision 2030 has the objective of improving the quality of life for all Kenyans. It aims to do this by targeting human and social welfare programs, specifically: education and training, health, environment, housing and urbanization, children and social development, and youth and sports.

Education and Training, many educational institutions opening up at all levels offering both local and international curriculum to fit the needs of the learners, e g very many universities have come up with evening classes to cater for the needs of the working class who are not available during the day this has been enhanced through marketing,

The Health Sector, marketing has led to improvement of services offered at both private and public health facilities through competition.eg cancer centers and proper awareness on various health issues for instance healthy eating a program on NTV Sunday morning.

The Environment, Waste management system, rehabilitation and Protection of Indigenous Forests in Five Water Towers preparation of a National Spatial Plan, Secure Wildlife Corridors and Migratory Routes

Housing and Urbanization, Producing 200,000 Housing Units Annually by 2012 under Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Other Initiatives Establish Housing Technology Centers in Each Constituency Installation of Physical and Social Infrastructure in Slums in 20 Urban Areas Enacting Housing Bill, 2006 to Legislate for a One-Stop Housing Development Approvals Mechanism Develop an Integrated Growth and Development Strategy for Six Metropolitan Regions.

Gender, Youth and Vulnerable, Women  and youths Enterprise Fund, Establishment of Consolidated Social Protection Fund, Representation of People with Disabilities in Decision Making Process ,Gender Mainstreaming, Affirmative Action Policy Gender Disaggregated Data, Implementation of Disability Fund

Equity and Poverty.Poverty levels remain high in Kenya. The country is unlikely to meet the millennium development goal (MDG) to halve extreme poverty by 2015. The most recent data suggests roughly 45% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day, and more than 65% on less than $2.

Thematic Overview of Kenya Vision 2030 (Economic pillar)

 Economic Pillar. 

      The Economic Pillar is seeking to achieve growth in the Gross Domestic Product of 10 percent by 2012. The economic areas that the Vision 2030 is targeting are: tourism, agriculture, wholesale/retail trade, manufacturing, IT enabled services, and Financial Services.

•         Tourism, marketing has boosted the image of existing tourism attraction spots hence more foreign and local  tourist which in turn has led to more businesses opening up in the tourism and hotel industries, Development of Resort Cities, Underutilized Parks Initiative, Development of Niche Products, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE)Premium Parks Initiative. 

•         Increasing value in Agriculture, for example  Kenchic have improve the way they do their packaging of the product to appeal to both the local and  foreign market through marketing

•         A better and more Inclusive wholesale and retail,  Trade Sector Creation of Producer Business Groups Building ‘Tier 1’ Markets Wholesale Hub,

•         Manufacturing for the Regional Market, with the strengthening up of the East African community, marketing has enhanced regional trade there by producing better and more improved products and services that can compete in the regional market.

•         Financial Services, International Financial Centre, Deepening of Capital Markets. More and more financial institutions coming up and offering wide range of products and services e.g. LPO financing for tenders, Chama accounts for women and youth groups. Business financing, flexible loans and mortgage. Amongst others.

Use of outside research firms

Meaning of outside research: Outside research involves the procurement of research and to some extent development services from other firms. These firms are specialized and have expertise in the research field given their exposure in running projects which is their core business.

Benefits:

• Reduced bias due to group thinking- The problem of using internal research or in house research is that the process and the result may be biased and subjected to other staff being unable to challenge ideas or opinions of their superiors thus subjecting the entire process to mob mentality and sycophancy. Outside research reduces this bias because the information they gather is what they report and this is not influenced by the executives at the firm.
• Proprietary software and systems resources highly qualified researchers- Due to concentration and specialization outside research firms will over the years discover new valuable processes and softwares that may improve the reliability and validity of research. These systems will be patented and thus to access these resources the only option would be to procure their services.
• The ability to cover more ground- Outside research firms has invested in human resources and systems to ensure they perform the research function efficiently. Thus they are able to utilize a large number of human resources to conduct the research and so in turn speeding up the process.
• Provides time to internal staff to concentrate on other tasks core business- By procuring outside research the internal research department would concentrate on formulating projects to pursue. Thus they will be available for creative purposes and the performance of the actual research process can then be outsourced.
• Ability to gather specialist expert opinions- given their existence in the research field outside research firms develop valuable networks of opinion leaders and experts who they can easily source information from faster than an internal research firm could.
• Obtain outside opinion which you can use to build on internal knowledge- Outside research firms facilitate information sharing between the company and themselves. The benefit to the company is that they would notice or be informed on other ideas originating from the research firm that they may not have thought of in the first place.

Disadvantages:

• Rigid guidelines and requirements may not move at the same pace as the org- Outside research firms has their way of doing things and this makes them very rigid. This may be seen through resource need whereby they may need more that the company can provide and they may not offer customizations because of their internal procedures.
• Lacks an opportunity for internal customization where the marketing staff can discuss features with engineering to see what is viable- Internal research has the ability to consult with different other departments on a one on one basis to know what is possible and what may take time to achieve thus providing a better outlook and direction of the research in real-time.
• Inability to Act on info instantly as it comes up through the research-some of the information that comes up during a research may require immediate attention or action. Thus an internal research department would quickly deliver this information to concerned parties for expeditious action.
• Fake results or use outdated information- external research firms may also offer fake results this is especially if the resources provided were not enough or they did not perform the service appropriately. Thus to meet deadlines they may present fabricated data and misguide the company.
• May be working with your competitor info risk leaks are high- given that an outside research firms are at liberty to work with any other company. Chances are they may also be working for your competitor. Information disclosure becomes an issue and the competition may get information on what the company is trying to do.

Role of information systems in business decision making

Access to information

Information systems offer access to information that is needed for decision making. Businesses collect a lot of information about their environment, customers, and competitors among others. This information is meant to guide the decision making process of the business. Information systems will organize this data in order to simplify and provide for quick access to this information.

Collection of Data

Information systems offer an opportunity to collect, store and process information important in decision making.

Interpretation of information

Information systems offer decision an opportunity to recognize trends and patterns. This information helps to guide them in making the right decisions.

Coordination and collaboration

Information systems enable members in the decision making process to collaborate in the process by providing them with access to information from different locations. This fosters team work which is essential in effective decision making.

Information dissemination and presentation

An information system helps in better presentation of information to decision makers and this enables them to make the appropriate given the interpretation of the information. For example bar graphs and pie charts created by Microsoft excel

Before decisions are made information needs to be shared within the process of decision making and it is through information systems that this can be achieved efficiently and effectively

·         Difference between structured, semi-structured and unstructured decisions

Structured decisions

Can be described as a decision whereby all sections of a decision (data, process and evaluation) are determined. This requires that this type of decision be routine, repetitive making the process of dealing with it defined and specific. They are decisions made in clear circumstances.

Unstructured decisions

Although similar to the structured decisions in terms of sections of the decision used there is less agreement on which data and process to be used. The evaluation aspect of the decision is also left to qualified individuals within the organization. This type of decision leaves no room for premeditation of the procedures to be followed and thus they are made in situations which are unclear and one-shot.

Semi structured decisions

The main difference with the other types of decisions is that this types leaves room for human judgment in the decision making process. This type of decision also maintains some level of agreement between the 3 sections of decision making (data, process and evaluation)

Market positioning in the Kenya telecommunication consumer markets

The Kenyan telecommunication industry which features several firms like Safaricom, Airtel and Orange offer a variety of products and services to their target market. Among some of the services offered include mobile communication, fixed line communication, data and mobile money services. The firms have continued to compete by positioning themselves within the market through changes in the marketing mix elements price, place, product and promotion. The telecommunication firms seek to offer competitive prices of their products and services, superior products, stronger networks in terms of distribution and effective promotion to reach their customer market. This can be best explained through the following cases of the firms as they interact with their market and changes they make to ensure they develop and maintain a competitive edge.

Price: Airtel moves to increase its tariffs

In a recent twist of events Airtel Kenya announced an increase in their prices which will place them slightly higher than that of the industry leader Safaricom. Although Airtel has not confirmed a change in strategy this move signifies an attempt to stop the price war. The move to increase tariffs on its major tariffs (Klub 254 and Vuka) is likely a result of the need for the firm to invest and improve the quality of its data products. But the company still maintains the low pricing strategy on its (Tosha) tariff for competitive advantage on cost leadership within the customer market.

Product: Safaricom Product innovation M-PESA/ M-SHWARI

Safaricom through introduction of its M-PESA Product placed Kenya on the world map as the first country in the world to use the service. M-PESA allows its subscribers to use their mobile phones to access banking services where the user can send and receive money on their mobile phones. M-SHWARI which is a complementary product offers the ability to save and earn interest for their users.  This shows a commitment by telecommunication firms to improve their products to attract more customers.

Place: $293m investment by Safaricom to improve its network coverage

Safaricom recently invested $293 million to improve its network and make it the best in the country. In a statement by its CEO Bob Collymore, the company has increased its sites to 2,905, 1,604 of these are 3G enabled and this has improved the distribution of their products and services to reach more customers in the market.

Promotion: Digital promotion

Firms within the telecommunication are increasing the use of digital platforms for promotion. All the companies have an online presence through their websites and social media profiles. They use these platforms to engage with their customers who prefer interactive channels of promotion instead of the traditional static methods. Digital platforms have offered the firms an opportunity to interact in real-time with their customers.

References

Thiong’o, P. (2013). Will Airtel kenya’s move to raise call rates end price wars among telcos?. The East African.

Institute of Developing Economies- Japan External Trade Organizations. (n.d.). Safaricom Limited

Sato, N. (2013). Safaricom in $293m investment to have “best network in Kenya”. Human IPO.

Business strategy in relation to organizations

A strategy is a game plan used by an organization to achieve its desired objectives within a specified period of time. Strategy is about shaping the future. It is actually the human attempt to get to desirable ends with available means (McKeown, 2011). It is the overall scope and direction of a corporation and the way in which its various business operations work together to achieve particular goals. According to Porter (1996), “strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities”. The word creation in his statement infers that a strategy involves making choices after evaluating a set of available actions.

Strategy may be looked at from two perspectives;

1.      A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem.

2.      The art and science of planning and marshalling resources for their most efficient and effective use.

Tactics are employed in decision making process, to make an accurate forecast of the future of the business (Masanell & Ricart, 2009). It highlights the core purpose and objectives of the organization and what exactly needs to be done in order to realize those goals. Resources necessary are allocated. Tactics are employed to ensure that the strategy objectives and goals are met.

Values: are the fundamental beliefs of an entity. They are the principles we use to define that which is right, good and just. Values provide guidance as we determine the right versus the wrong, the good versus the bad. They would refer to acceptable standards within the workspace which govern the behavior of the individuals within the organization (Putnam, 2011). These values must be within the organization’s purpose, mission and vision. Ethical considerations that act as a guide to the behavior and morals of all the stakeholders in the organization an organization’s values are largely set in its culture and traditions. Organizations values are the foundation of the organization and are determined by what customers expect in their day to day interactions with the organization. Examples include:

·         Customer centered care

·         Empathy

·         Development

·         Enthusiasm

·         Partnership

-An organization's values should be clearly outlined in their mission statement as a way to build commitment in its adoption within the fabric of the organization.

Values ensure the health and wellbeing of the firm in the long run.

Concept value of firms expands beyond economic value to include other forms of value such as employee value, customer value, supplier value, channel partner value, alliance partner value, managerial value and societal value.

Business Product Strategy: A case on Magneto

Product attributes

This would involve the features or characteristic of the product. Before Magneto goes into production they need to understand the ability for the product to fulfill the needs of the customer

Quality – the major tool in positioning your product. It encompasses two key elements: 1) quality level - how it is made or perceived, and 2) quality consistency - how it performs over its life.

Features – the physical or intrinsic characteristics of your product that contribute to the benefits it offers.

Design – a combination of how the product looks and how it performs.

• Branding

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these elements that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service. Branding is an important part of a product and contributes to its personality and perceived value. The power of a brand cannot be underestimated – many people buy on the strength of brand alone with no regard for price or performance.

• Packaging

Packaging incorporates the wrapper or container for your product. It serves to protect the product, ensuring it reaches the buyer in good condition and also conveys the personality of your brand and important safety and statutory information.

• Labeling

Labeling incorporates all the written information about your product and usually takes the form of an adhesive sticker, a tie-on tag or a printed piece of packaging.

The characteristics of the target market

The characteristic of the target market or the product’s potential customers is an essential part of the product strategy. This is because the company needs to understand the potential customers’ needs and their characters for the purpose of developing a product that this group can connect with. Magneto will need to consider their geographical locations which may encompass region, climatic conditions and so on, demographics which may include their age, gender among other variables, psychographics which includes the general personality and lifestyle, behaviors which includes their level of knowledge and attitude.

Market share objectives

Magneto will need to place focus on their market forecast for this product and their market share intentions. This will depend on whether they need to achieve market share dominance or they will just pursue profits or both. Market share objective will involve determining the size of the market and estimating how much of that market Magneto will require to meet their corporate and product goals.

Competition

Magneto will need to understand the competitive environment within the product category and class. In case Magneto is the pioneer for the said product they will need patents to protect their product from competition if this is not possible then they should gather information about other companies that are more likely to produce a similar product. This will enable them develop their product with strong features to withstand the threat. Competitor analysis makes up for an important part of product strategy because it seeks to offer insights on how well to beat the competition through taking advantage of their weaknesses and the opportunities that generally exist in the market.

Desired product positioning

This will involve the development of a unique selling preposition about the product. The product by Magneto can be positioned on the basis of an attitude or benefit, use or application, price or level of quality. The positioning should play to the company’s product strength and away from weakness.

Profit objectives

Depending on the product Magneto is making they may not be able to set their own prices but in most cases companies can set prices for their products. In that case then Magneto should pay close attention to the pricing of their product to ensure they offer value to the customer but also make profits. The price set versus the cost of production would directly impact profit objectives. Pursuit of cost leadership which affects the price will also have a direct impact on the profit targets from the product developed by Magneto. 

Importance of Strategic Marketing to businesses

Strategic marketing seeks to establish a sustainable competitive advantage for an organization. This can be achieved through allocation of resources to opportunities that are geared towards meeting the organizations objectives. Strategic marketing employs processes beyond the marketing mix scope to ensure the organization differentiates itself effectively through providing superior offerings to customers. It provides the organization with an opportunity to improve on its strengths while seeking out opportunities and avoiding or dealing with threats appropriately.

Strategic marketing and customer value

Strategic marketing plays a major role in delivering added value by increasing consumer satisfaction and the quality of the organization’s offerings. Value from a strategic marketing point of view would include

·         The quality offered being commensurate with the price being charged

·         The value that is attached to the reputation of the brand

·         Value through customer service

·         Value provided by exceeding the customer’s expectations

In order for the above to be achieved strategies need to be implemented to better understand the customer’s needs and how they make their decisions, to incorporate features in the product or service that would meet these needs and cultivating loyalty and trust to ensure long-term engagement with the customer.

Strategic marketing and business portfolio

Strategic marketing enables the organization to determine the businesses that it should engage in. Thus the organization only concentrates its efforts and resources towards developing an attractive business portfolio and understanding the businesses that it engages in. Apart from determining the direction of the businesses the organization should engage in, strategic marketing will also guide the process of developing the organization’s growth policies.

Strategic marketing and understanding of the environment

Strategic marketing provides for the understanding of the environment and situation. A PEST analysis would guide the marketing process in order to gain the highest level of benefits. Political, economic, social-cultural, technological, legal and environmental factors are given high priority to enable the organization to recognize both the opportunities and threats presented by these factors.

Marketing strategies

Strategic marketing provides the approaches that would be used to handle the different strategic business units as they are determined by the organization. These approaches are derived from the different characteristics of a particular unit. For example, using the BCG matrix, different units would be classified in different levels which are stars, cows, question marks and dogs. Stars are high growth products that are stronger than competitors and have the potential of becoming cash cows in future. Cows are low growth products with a considerable high market share. Question marks they operate in high growth markets but are currently in low market share. Dogs are units that operate in low growth markets and have low market share making them unattractive.

For each of these levels different strategies may be employed such as building share to turn a question mark into a star, hold where the organization would invest only enough to keep the unit going in the case of stars, Harvest in the case of stars to turn them into cows and Divest in the case of dogs.

Do private secondary schools in Kenya need a strategy

Private secondary schools in Kenya need a strategy in order to ensure that they offer value to the community they serve. The schools are also driven by results and the performance of their students and this means that they need to implement some strategy to ensure that they meet these objectives. It is through meeting these objectives that they are able to gain their competitive advantage. Private secondary schools in Kenya cannot base their performance or expect results without implementing a strategy that gets them to where they want to be. If it is the case that these results are achieved through guesswork then this makes them unstable and unsustainable which eventually reflects negatively on the stakeholders.

Strategy ensures growth and development in private schools in terms of enrollment, improvement of learning equipments and facilities. Private secondary schools need strategy to ensure that there is a low student to teacher ratios in order to improve the effectiveness of their service and enable them address the different needs of the students with a personalized touch. Strategy in the private schools will also guide professional development of the staff this will in turn translate to better overall performance. This will ensure that the private schools are able to retain excellent and differs faculty.

Strategy will ensure that the private secondary schools utilize their resources adequately through appropriate allocation. This ensures that all resources allocated for educational or administrative purposes are utilized as such. For example the school bus may not be used to run the principals private businesses instead of taking students and teachers on educational field trips. This represents misuse of the resources which were to be used for purposes of improving the schools performance.

Private secondary schools need a strategy to ensure they remain focused on their objectives. Just like any other entity private schools can also lose focus of their goals in the long run. A strategy helps ensures that the stakeholders are constantly reminded of what they are required to achieve. For example if the institution’s vision is to offer world class standards of education or increase the level of diversity or improve performance to be the top school nationally. Then all actions by the institutions should be in support of that vision. This means that private schools need a strategy to govern their actions in order to work towards achievement of the vision.

Private secondary schools need a strategy to help them in dealing with the external and internal environments. Just like any entity, private schools also exist within an environment which is unpredictable and can wreak havoc if the entity is not prepared. So the strategy helps in forecasting and predicting some of these events and if they are noticed earlier the negative impacts from the environmental changes can be minimized or avoided altogether. Strategy also presents opportunity for adaptations to the environment for private schools.

In conclusion, private secondary schools in Kenya need a strategy as illustrated. It would be risky for private secondary schools to operate without a strategy and miss out on the benefits that it offers.

Internet marketing in Kenya businesses

Economic survey of Kenya and effects on Internet marketing

According to data from the Economic survey of Kenya report 2013 Kenya recorded a decrease in inflation from 14.0% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2012. Total electricity generation increased by 3.9% in 2012 (7,851.2 GWh) as compared to 2011 (7,559.9 GWh). Number of connections under the rural electrification increased by 23.7% in 2012, this explains the sustained growth in mobile subscriptions and internet connectivity.

In regards to internet marketing the data shows opportunity for companies and businesses to invest in internet marketing. This is because the number of people with access to mobile phones is increasing and their ability to connect to the internet is improved. This means it is important to capture this traffic by paying attention to the changes and growth currently being realized in terms of connectivity. This can also be attributed to consumers growing purchasing power given the drop in inflation and increased in electricity access to the rural parts of the country.

The need to enhance connectivity to the entire population is entrenched in Kenya’s vision 2030 under the economic pillar. Within its objective to improve infrastructure the country seeks to improve telecommunication networks and in turn provide internet connectivity to all.

Forms of Internet Marketing In Kenya

In this case, business owners of various kinds employ web developers to develop for them websites and they advertise their products there. This is a very powerful form of Internet Marketing in Kenya because as the web users come across the site they are interested in or the products they are looking for, they get in touch with the web owners and the business deal is sealed. Nearly all the organizations in Kenya are employing this technique of web development in their marketing strategies.

Another common form of online marketing mostly used in Kenya is the use of social media. Internet Marketing in Kenya via social media has been very effective especially in the fashion industry. Many organizations have opened social pages like face book and twitter where they interact with their clients and respond to their views. Some of them design specific products for their customers and hence social media has become an effective tool of marketing.

E mail marketing is also very common in Kenya. Internet Marketing in Kenya is sometimes done by business people sending messages to the target population randomly to their phone numbers or e mail addresses. The challenge is that this method has been used by many fraud stars to steal from the general public. There are many other forms of Internet Marketing in Kenya, but these are the most common ones. 

Challenges of Internet Marketing in Kenya

As a developing country, Kenyan infrastructure is not well developed. Internet connection heavily relies on internet connection and power supply. Research shows that a very small population of Kenyans has a 24 hour access to the internet. This means that very few people can be reached on Internet Marketing in Kenya. A very big population in Kenyans also leaves in the rural areas where there is limited or no power supply. This renders the population that can get access to computer use to be very few.

The challenge of infrastructure in Kenya makes online marketing to mainly reach the people in towns and a few people in the villages. Given that a big population of Kenyans lives in rural areas that have been connected with the fiber optic cable and lack power connection, poor infrastructure is a major drawback to Internet Marketing in Kenya. The other challenge is that many Kenyans live below the poverty line, thus fighting for basic needs cannot allow them visit the internet. Information posted online ends up reaching only part of the target market.

Benefits of Internet Marketing in Kenya

One advantage with e marketing in Kenya is that with the arrival of the fiber optic cable, it has become very cheap and fast to advertise on the internet. Internet Marketing in Kenya is becoming one of the cheapest forms of marketing that is available within the region. The other advantage is that there are several institutions country wide that trains the basics of computer use at very reasonable price. A high percentage of Kenyans are therefore computer literate and thus accessing information on Internet Marketing in Kenya is not a challenge to many Kenyans.

However, firms are rolling out different solutions to reduce the gulf between payments and e-commerce. In February this year, Safaricom launched the M-Pesa prepay safari card which allows its users to transact business online. In September Airtel and MasterCard launched payonline, a platform that enables the former’s subscribers to buy and pay for goods and services online using the latter’s cards. And down South, MTN launched paid, a system that facilitates South Africans to pay for goods and services online using a pin-based debit card.

These efforts are commendable, but insufficient if they are not complemented by measures to persuade Kenyan online shoppers to consider shopping and paying for goods using these cards. This festive season is a great opportunity about to vanish for Kenyan businesses to do that. They are offering an abundance of Christmas offers and even advertising them on their websites, but there’s neither information nor incentives to encourage customers to shop and pay for these offers online.

On December 16 2011, Safaricom concluded a nationwide tour to promote its products/services. These events attracted crowds similar to those who attend political rallies. They were not only entertained by comedians and musicians, they also won freebies such as tee shirts, hats and umbrellas. Why can’t Safaricom conduct a similar initiative to persuade (and reward) its subscribers with internet connection in their homes to use its safari card? Why hasn't Airtel Kenya added information regarding its Payonline solution to its website? Both mobile phone service providers account for approximately 80% of Kenya’s 25 million subscribers. Imagine the effect their efforts to convince a substantial number of these subscribers to sign up to their respective offerings would have on online transactions in Kenya. One result is that the number of cards (Visa) will increase from the current 2 million. In addition, none of these companies have displayed the energy to update the public on the successes and challenges of these initiatives, compared with the enthusiasm they exhibit when they regularly update us on the progress of their other promotions, particularly those that have to do with winning cash.

Kenya cultural effects on digital marketing

Globalization in Kenya has led to a digital awakening. Kenya is now an IT hub in Africa with some of the greatest innovations being born as a result. Mobile money transfer and mobile banking services have revolutionized Kenya. There are more people online using their mobile phones in Kenya than in any other country in East and Central Africa.

Communication has been much easier across Kenya with the advent of technology. This has also made it to interact more with her neighbours if not the whole world. Diplomatic relations with other countries has been made much easier through the use of technology. It is easier to have a Skype/video conference with someone thousands of miles away in real time. Countries are now connected and have bilateral relations.

ICT for development MDG6

Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases is the sixth goal in the ongoing initiative by the UN and member countries which began in 2000 at the turn of the millennium known commonly as the millennium development goals (MDGs).

ICT has a role to play in combating HIV through stopping or reversing its spread globally. ICT has been able to spread information about the disease faster and effectively to far flung areas of the globe. Radios, televisions, mobile phones, computers and other gadgets have been used to relay information that is aimed at combating the spread of HIV. People all over the globe have been educated on issues that revolve around stigma associated with the disease. Communities are now more open about this disease and the victims are continuously being encouraged to seek medical help.

Scientists and researchers also use ICT to share their findings among themselves and with the rest of the world. This has helped in coming up with new ideas that would see cures being developed to eliminate the disease. Media has been used to bring together groups of scientists, victims of the disease and those susceptible to falling victim for purposes of research and cure development.

ICT has also been used in documenting progress in how the disease is being dealt with and reports are published to show areas where management and containment have been successful and where some strategies have failed. This increases the awareness of all stakeholders in the fight against the disease and works to improve their participation in programs that would help stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.

ICT has also been used by patients to access information that is useful to them. Mobile phones have helped in relaying this information to where the patients are. Mobile applications have also been developed to ensure that treatment is taken at the appropriate time using reminders

Causes of slow intranet and impact on business

Reasons for slow intranet 

• Users could be wasting the bandwidth through running heavy downloads or opening a variety of tasking websites like social media platforms. This reduces the amount of bandwidth available thus slowing down the system. This is because such websites and downloads use a lot of bandwidth when running.
• The other reason could be that the number of users has increased and thus running of tasking websites has also probably increased. This would result to slowing down the entire system of the intranet and thus connectivity would be hindered.
• A router could also be used in the intranet connection and if that is the case users accessing the intranet remotely would encounter slow speeds if the router is unable to encrypt VPN (Virtual Private Network) fast enough.
• Network interface card, computers with bad network adapters can slow down the entire network. Faulty NICs are known to broadcast junk (useless) packets of data. This increases traffic on the network and eventually slowing down all users.

Solutions

Below are solutions to the above issues in respective order.

• There are several softwares that can monitor the protocols that are putting pressure on the bandwidth. These softwares also have the ability to kill some of the protocols and stop certain websites from loading and other operations such as downloads.
• Another solution would be to increase the amount of bandwidth in direct promotion to the amount of use in the organization. This will ensure everyone is allocated enough to continue with fast speeds on the network.
• The router can be replaced by use of a pfSense box (open source firewall/ router) as replacement or used with the router to improve its VPN encryption speed in order to keep up with connectivity. This would be best for people accessing the intranet remotely. This is because data being sent via VPN needs to be encrypted and if this is not done fast enough then the resultant effect would be slow response for the user.
• Network interface cards that are faulty should be replaced to ensure the speeds on the network improve.