This archive report was first published on 21 June 2021.
Victoria Musyoki, founder and CEO of Kiddie World Kenya, took a bold step in 2016, leaving a career in IT to pursue her passion for creating a business that helps families bond with each other.
However, she soon realized that marketing was a significant challenge she had to overcome. With no prior knowledge of marketing and limited funds to hire a consultant, she had to learn the importance of having a marketing strategy the hard way.
Initially, Musyoki relied on cold calls and social media posts on Facebook and Instagram without a clear plan. She soon discovered that general advertising on these platforms was not effective in converting her audience into customers, resulting in significant financial losses.
After taking a break to reflect, Musyoki re-strategized her approach. She started by defining her target audience and identifying social media groups where they were most active.
Instead of just posting advertisements, she shared before-and-after videos of her company's party set-ups for children's birthdays and events, making her content more interactive.
Musyoki also conducted market research to identify gaps in her competitors' services and filled those gaps, focusing on delivering exceptional customer experiences that led to word-of-mouth referrals.
She implemented a self-referral system, where she would contact clients 48 hours after completing a project to gather feedback and suggestions for improvement. This approach resulted in 20% of her business coming from referrals.
Additionally, Musyoki joined the Event's Organisers Association of Kenya (EOAK), a network platform that not only provided referrals but also opportunities for partnerships and collaborations. This membership accounted for 65% of her business.
