eBusiness Weekly
Leslie Mupeti
The growth of the internet and social media has exposed many young Africans to the tastes and preferences of other young people across the globe.
This has led to the expansion of international fast food companies into the African territory. Of all the international fast food chains, KFC commands the lead with more than 800 outlets on the continent.
In Zimbabwe, Simbisa Brands (formerly under Innscor) has been the dominant player in the business along with other new players such as Chicken Slice. While the occasional night of junk food won’t hurt much, eating junk food regularly has been shown to lead to increased risks of obesity and other chronic diseases.
Enter Yanaya Lifestyle.
Yanaya Lifestyle is a restaurant which caters for health conscious individuals with its unique menu which offers alternative meals such as the bunless burger and the masawu magnolia. The company has more than seven locations and more than 60 percent of its staff are women. The company was founded by Nyaradzo Moyo (Dhliwayo) who was a digital marketer with SeedCo at the time. She founded the company with an initial capital of US$50. The first product the company developed was fried wheat.
In this article we are going to look at how Yanaya Lifestyle used branding effectively to expand their business from a single booth in Joina City to over seven locations and a hundred employees.
1. Effective storytelling and a strong “why”
Story telling is a way to tell the audience about why your brand exists and it drives the company’s values. Story telling in branding leads to the creation of an emotional bond with the audience. The founder of Yanaya Lifestyle founded the company after her friend was diagonised with Cancer.
The friend was advised by doctors to adopt a plant-based diet. Nyaradzo and friends adopted a plant-based diet too in support of their dear friend. Unfortunately, their friend failed to make it (MHDSRIP) and this motivated Nyaradzo to start a health lifestyle company.
Brands showcase their human side by depicting a well-laid-out story and getting the attention they seek for their brand. Storytelling enables trust in the content as well as the brand, therefore, leading to an unforgettable experience and association.
2. High-quality visuals
Quality photography can set you apart from the competition. According to Deposit photography, articles with relevant images average 94 percent more total views than those without images.
A press release with photos gets 15 percent more online views than a text-only one. 60 percent of consumers who use online searches say they prefer to contact a business whose listing includes an image and 70 percent of e-commerce shoppers say the product image is very important when making their purchase decisions.
Yanaya Lifestyle uses high-quality pictures of their products and of their locations to depict the lifestyle they’re promoting (Nyaradzo, the founder of the company is a professional photographer by the way).
If you see a company that uses pixelated stock images, you are more likely to question its credibility. If you claim that your products/services are of high quality, then that same level of quality must be reflected in your photography.
Customers will know that you’re willing to invest in quality and there will be an increased chance that they will invest in your products.
You need to think about your audience and what they dream about then you bring it to life using high-quality visuals.
As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. It shows the audience what your business represents.
3. Effective use of colour
Yanaya uses green as its main colour in all of its branding across social media and its physical stores. Green is a colour of growth and vitality, associated with new life and renewal. Green is associated with nature, health and healing creating a sense of compassion and nurturing for all.
This goes well with Yanaya Lifestyle, a company that is in the business of promoting health. Yanaya was clever to make use of the lighter shades of green and not overuse the darker shades of the colour which can be linked to excessive money and greed.
Colour meaning and psychology of colours can powerfully impact people’s behaviour and decision-making. Brands and advertisers know certain colour tints and hues that evoke emotion and move people to action.
Through their choice of colour in logos, packaging, signage and advertising, brands can influence customers to buy on impulse or choose their product/service over a competitor’s.
Research by the Seoul International colour expo found that 93 percent of buyers focus on visual appearance and close to 85 percent claim colour is a primary reason when they make a purchase.
4. An effective differentiation strategy
A differentiation strategy is the approach businesses use to attract and keep customers by giving them a unique product/service.
Think about Yanaya’s bunless burger. Have you ever seen it offered on any other menu in Zimbabwe? I doubt anyone has.
The current markets are cluttered and to stand out businesses need to keep innovating and differentiating themselves from competitors.
Most food outlets in Zimbabwe offer the same old chicken and chips which has become somewhat monotonous.
Yanaya makes use of a focused differentiation strategy which means that they target a niche market and they create unique products for those people.
A differentiation strategy allows Yanaya to set their own prices and to avoid price wars with competitors. It allows them to charge premium prices for their products and have greater profit margins.
It also slows down the competition since they have unique products that take time to reproduce and copy.
A differentiation strategy also allows for brand loyalty since their products have created their own unique place in the customer’s mind.
5. An effective social media strategy
Yanaya gets a lot of love on social media. This is just a fact.
Yanaya uses its social media effectively to update its customers on new menu additions and even new location openings.
The company recently opened a new location in Portal village in Highlands and for those who couldn’t attend physically, they could watch the event on Facebook Live.
Across their social media platforms, the company posts an average of about 3 pieces of content a day which helps keep their audience engaged and updated.
Social media helps businesses to follow their customers’ activities or potential buyers. It helps marketers be more informed about their target audience’s likes, dislikes and interests so that they can create a better marketing strategy to attract customers.
Social media advertising and marketing often cost less than other forms of marketing and it presents the greatest ROI which gives the business more revenue.
Social media also allows businesses to build relationships with target customers. This means customers will get to know the business on a deeper level and on friendly terms and they can actually interact with each other, answer queries and try to help each other in all possible ways.
Social media enables your business to stay top of mind with the people who matter the most.
