BEE Partner, South Africa Economy Watch

The obvious starting point for the marketing of South Africa is to decide what the marketing objectives are. This presupposes that the right ‘product‘ has been created to suit the requirements of the target customers. What does the nation not just want, but need in order to attract tourists, investors, immigrants, etc.? Fancy slogans and logos will do nothing for the country if South Africa Inc., the product, is not right, and the strategists have not paid sufficient attention to what the country needs to achieve in this context.

Moreover, the people of South Africa should be brought into the process to support this initiative, and they have to be made aware of the importance of their role in trying to attract and keep customers for the country. Internal marketing therefore has a role to play in shaping the perceptions, beliefs and actions of the citizens of this country in a collective effort to make the country more competitive in the global marketplace.

Whilst these statements may suit Britain in its own development, South Africa has to go through a similar exercise in order to develop a perceptual paradigm that it wishes to create in the minds of prospective customers. However, a word of caution: the experiences that customers have of South Africa, the product, need to be in line with what they have been told in any marketing effort. That means that credibility, honesty and justifiability need to lie at the heart of the marketing effort, or one risks a gap emerging between the perception created by the marketing effort and the perception created by the customer’s experience.

What not to do

Firstly, the marketing of South Africa Inc. should not be approached simply from a branding perspective. This would be tantamount to papering over the cracks. Nor should it be only an advertising, promotional or public relations exercise. Whilst these are key components of any marketing strategy, and branding is indeed important, especially from the perspective of creating and sustainin_g the right kind of perceptions, the marketing of a nation does not start and end there.

Secondly, the country must not be presented as something it is not. It is all too easy for advertising and marketing people to g_et carried away with creative hype. If a consumer product does not live up to expectations and customers have a bad experience with it, the chances are they will not buy it again. If a tourist has a bad experience in South Africa, he or she may not want to return. If a graduate cannot get a job, he or she may well go overseas. If a citizen is raped, robbed, hijacked or abused, he or she may well take his or her family and emigrate to another country. If potential foreign investors see lots of labour unrest in the country compared to other countries, they may well take their investment elsewhere. If South Africa, the product, is not right, no amount of marketing, and specifically advertising and promotional effort, will convince the customer to buy. And, as was stated earlier, in order for South Africa, the product, to be right, South Africa, the society, has to be right.

Thirdly, do not exclude the people of this land, their outlook on life, their achievements and their values. The people of South Africa help to create the vibe of the country. A friendly people project a friendly vibe. A law-abiding people project a vibe of safety. An innovative people project an innovative vibe.

It is not my intention to propose a marketing strategy for South Africa. However, the following seven questions must be answered before any marketing strategy can be developed. These questions remind us of the fundamentals that need to be in place to ensure that the correct mileage is generated from the resources spent on marketing the country. The answers to these questions will also indicate to the strategist the strength of the country’s heartbeat in the global environment. These questions need to be applied to each of the target markets the country has identified.

1. Differentiation

Q. Does South Africa actually own its own piece of differentiation? In other words, is it seen to be different and believed to be better than its opposition in the minds of its actual and potential customers? For example, do potential foreign investors believe South Africa to be different and better than, say, Turkey, Brazil, India, China, Ireland, Mexico, Botswana, Malaysia or all the other possible investment locations that could satisfy their investment needs? Do tourists believe South Africa to be different or better than all the other tourist destinations? Do domestic graduates believe South Africa to be different and better than a host of other countries that could offer them career opportunities?

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