“You Want To Shine Here”: Joys And Challenges Of Eskimi Business Developer

What do you think about when you look at a company’s name? Probably, about its activity, services, or goods they provide, its success rate, size, and so on. But have you ever wondered what people stay behind all of this, create and impact your opinion, knowledge, and thoughts about a company?

Eskimi is excited to show you the people that create the Eskimi magic.  

Today, please meet Uchechi Udeoka, Eskimi Senior Business Developer in Nigeria. Uchechi is responsible for the growth of the company—which mainly includes sales. Still, selling Eskimi services is just the tip of an iceberg. The business developer is responsible for all the client relationships: maintaining existing relationships, growing current clients’ accounts, and the clientele base.

The proper representation of Eskimi and maintaining its brand image is one of the key components of selling at Eskimi. Uchechi mentioned, “It’s very important how I interact with people, how I position myself.” That determines how a potential or a current client sees the company. For example, confidence, clear speech, openness—these qualities of a representative later transform into characteristics of a company. “Is Eskimi reliable? Is it easy to deal with them? Are they open and flexible?”

Answers to these customers’ questions depend on the representative’s behavior.

Dealing with different markets

For a long time, Uchechi was the only one that represented Eskimi in Nigeria. She has been working here for four years already, and the business development team has grown during this time as the opportunities are ample to grow the company. “The potential of the market is huge. The digital industry in Nigeria is pretty advanced but the community is rather small. And the word of mouth is strong here. The market thrives on the principle seeing is believing. There’s a big room for Eskimi, and we need to focus on further improvement of our product,” says Uchechi. Sales service, efficiency, successful campaigns—these are the key factors to a thriving business, according to Eskimi business developer.

Eskimi DSP focuses on working with industries such as FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods), telecoms, banking, or retail. Every industry has its own needs – from growing sales to increasing brand wareness. “In the dealing process, you have to show the information that’s valuable for a customer. For example, FMCG concentrates on brand awareness, while banks are interested in data we collect and store about users”, says Uchechi. Despite the differences among the industries, Eskimi has five key advantages that help to convey value for the (potential) clients: a powerful data management platform, cost efficiency, high reach (1,5+B worldwide), all the creative types including rich media, and brand safety.

Growing the company: identifying potential and facing challenges

Uchechi is responsible for key accounts: banking, telecoms, FMCG—as she says, “top spenders in Nigeria.” When she looks for new business relationships, she always aims to identify those companies that are most likely to spend now, who are willing to buy at this moment. If a company is already using programmatic ads, the process may get way faster. That means the company has already got a budget for it, and Uchechi does not need to convince why programmatic advertising is worth the money.

“When the client understands the differences between the platforms, sometimes the fear of change comes in and they become weary of using a new platform, especially if they have not heard about Eskimi before. Even if they have, they still associate Eskimi with its maiden platform which was a social network launched in 2010.  It’s already been five years since Eskimi DSP was launched, but it’s hard to overcome the previous perception of Eskimi ”, she says.

Why Eskimi is a match for Uchechi

Facing challenges and winning victories, Uchechi has been helping Eskimi to grow for four years already. She shares that she has never stayed in one company for so long. The business developer especially values an open and healthy atmosphere, an opportunity to give and receive honest feedback without being judged.

“Everyone respects your view and what you do. The team spirit is strong, we support each other, and feel that each one’s hard work is appreciated—that’s very satisfying”, says Uchechi. Along with the excitement of making deals and bringing value to the company, she also appreciates the atmosphere of growth: “Eskimi works really hard to bring out the best in you. The company invests in you—free books, training, and so on. You want to shine here, be at the top of your game all the time. And the work-life balance is fantastic.”

It sounds that Uchechi is flourishing in the company. As a business developer, she wants to see Eskimi growing and thriving. “I want to be in Eskimi and see its growth, conquering the whole market, and being the next Google. Yes, I’d love to be in Eskimi until it gets like that.”