When I started selling electronics accessories around Alaba International Market in Lagos, I made a mistake that I believe many new traders make. I assumed the market itself would do most of the marketing for me.
Alaba International Market is already known for electronics. Traders come from different parts of Lagos and other states to buy electronics, phones, accessories, electrical equipment and other products. There are shops throughout the market, and on a busy day I can see sellers competing for the attention of customers looking for similar products.
I assumed that if I stocked popular products and opened my shop every morning, customers would eventually find me.
That assumption cost me money.
During my first few weeks, I spent more time arranging products than thinking about how customers were actually finding my shop. I had chargers hanging neatly on display, cables arranged by type, power banks placed where people could see them and several brands of earphones available.
From inside the shop, everything looked ready for business.
The problem was that having a well-stocked shop did not automatically bring customers through the door.
I eventually realised that customers could walk past several sellers offering almost exactly what I was selling. If I wanted someone to stop at my shop, I needed to give that person a reason to choose me.
That changed the way I approached marketing.
Instead of asking myself, "How can I advertise my business?" I started asking, "Why would a customer choose my shop instead of the next shop?"
That question influenced almost every change I made afterwards, from the way I displayed products to the way I handled WhatsApp enquiries.
My Business Was Selling Products Customers Could Find Almost Anywhere
My shop was not selling rare electronics that customers had to search for. Most of my products were everyday accessories.
I stocked phone chargers, USB cables, Type-C cables, Lightning cables, earphones, screen protectors, memory cards, adapters, power banks, car chargers and a few other small gadgets.
The products were popular, but that created another problem.
Popular products attracted competition.
When a customer wanted a Type-C cable, there were several places where the customer could buy one. The same customer could compare prices at several shops within a relatively short period.
I therefore could not build my marketing strategy around the idea that my products were unique.
I had to compete through other factors.
Price mattered, but it was not the only factor. Availability mattered. The way I spoke to customers mattered. How quickly I answered questions mattered. Whether customers trusted the quality of what I sold mattered.
I began to understand that marketing was not separate from my daily business operations.
For my small shop, almost every customer interaction became part of marketing.
The First Month Was More Difficult Than I Expected
During my first month, I spent about ₦485,000 restocking products and roughly ₦74,000 on business-related expenses such as transportation, packaging, small repairs, communication and other operating costs.
My sales were not terrible, but they were lower than I expected.
I recorded approximately ₦612,000 in sales during the month.
The number that concerned me was not necessarily the sales figure itself. It was the amount I had invested in stocking the shop compared with how few new customers seemed to know about my business.
I started keeping a simple record of where customers said they heard about the shop.
Out of 86 customers whose source I managed to identify during that period, 41 said they were simply passing through the area, 19 were referred by another person, 14 had previously bought from me, and 12 had contacted me through WhatsApp.
That record changed my thinking.
I realised that I had been waiting for customers instead of giving them more reasons to remember my shop.
I Started by Understanding How People Move Through Alaba
After spending more time observing the market, I realised that not everyone walking through Alaba was my customer.
There were wholesalers looking for cartons of products. There were retailers buying smaller quantities. There were people looking for phones. Others were interested in electrical equipment, home electronics or repairs.
Some people were simply accompanying somebody else.
That distinction changed how I viewed the customer traffic around my shop.
Previously, I saw a crowd and thought, "There are customers everywhere."
I started looking at the crowd differently.
Who was actually looking at my products?
Who stopped when they saw my display?
What products were people asking about?
Were customers asking for individual pieces or bulk quantities?
Were they mainly concerned about price or quality?
Did they already know the exact product they wanted?
These observations helped me understand the market better than simply trying different advertising methods without tracking the results.
My Product Display Became Part of My Marketing
One of the cheapest changes I made was improving how I displayed my products.
Before that, I had a habit of putting too many items together because I wanted customers to see how much stock I had.
It created too much visual information.
I eventually reduced the clutter and grouped similar products together. Chargers were placed together, cables were separated according to type, and products with different price points were easier to compare.
I also placed some of my faster-moving accessories where customers could see them without having to enter the shop.
This mattered because customers often decided whether to stop before they ever spoke to me.
If somebody walking past could immediately understand what I sold, my display had already communicated something about the shop.
A customer who saw several phone accessories displayed clearly could stop because something caught their attention.
I also started putting prices on selected products.
I had initially avoided displaying prices because I thought customers would ask questions and that would create an opportunity to sell.
Sometimes it did.
But I discovered that some customers simply wanted to know whether they could afford an item before stopping.
Displaying prices on selected products helped me attract customers who were already within the right price range.
I Stopped Trying to Sound Like Every Other Seller
Another change I made was the way I approached customers.
At first, I copied what I saw around me.
When other sellers called out to people, I called out to people. When someone shouted about a product, I assumed that was what effective selling looked like.
I quickly realised that it did not suit me.
I sounded forced.
Instead, I started using simple greetings and allowing customers to approach at their own pace.
When someone looked at the accessories on display, I might ask what type of charger or cable they needed rather than immediately announcing everything available in the shop.
That small difference made conversations easier.
Customers could explain what they wanted.
Sometimes they knew the exact product.
Sometimes they did not.
When they were unsure, I asked questions.
"What phone are you using?"
"Do you need something for fast charging?"
"Is the cable mainly for charging or data transfer?"
"Are you looking for something affordable or something more durable?"
These questions helped me recommend products instead of simply pushing the most expensive item.
They also helped me learn more about what customers were looking for.
I Learned That Price Alone Was Not a Marketing Strategy
Price competition was one of the most obvious challenges I faced.
A customer could ask for the price of a charger and then immediately compare it with another seller's price.
My first reaction was to reduce my price whenever somebody told me another shop was cheaper.
That was a mistake.
If I kept reducing my prices, I could make sales while damaging my margins.
I started calculating the actual gross margin on individual products instead.
If I purchased a cable for ₦2,000 and sold it for ₦3,000, the ₦1,000 difference was not automatically ₦1,000 profit.
I also had transportation costs, packaging, damaged products, shop expenses and other overheads to consider.
I therefore created minimum selling prices for different categories.
That gave me room to negotiate without accidentally selling below a sensible margin.
Instead of telling customers that I was the cheapest, I focused on communicating the value of the products.
If two cables looked similar but one had a stronger connector or better construction, I explained the difference.
If a cheaper power bank had a lower practical capacity than another model, I told the customer.
That did not convince everyone.
Some customers only wanted the cheapest option.
I accepted that.
My goal was not to win every customer. My goal was to build a business that could remain profitable.
The Biggest Change Was Taking WhatsApp Seriously
I had a WhatsApp account before I started the business, but I was not using it properly.
Customers would ask for my number, I would save theirs and then nothing would happen.
I eventually started using WhatsApp as an extension of my physical shop.
When a customer asked for an item that was temporarily unavailable, I could take the customer's number and contact them when new stock arrived.
If someone wanted several pieces of an accessory, I could send pictures and prices before the customer came to the market.
This became particularly useful for repeat customers.
A customer who purchased several charging cables could contact me a few weeks later and ask whether I had received another batch.
Instead of starting the sales conversation from zero, I already had a relationship with the customer.
I became careful about how often I messaged people.
I did not want my WhatsApp account to become a constant stream of promotions.
Most of my messages were related to something the customer had previously asked about.
That made the communication more useful and reduced the risk of customers viewing my messages as unwanted promotions.
I Started Photographing New Stock Immediately
Another simple strategy that helped me was taking photographs whenever new products arrived.
I did not need professional photography equipment.
I used my phone, placed the products on a clean surface and took clear pictures in good lighting.
When a new batch of power banks or cables arrived, I could send pictures to customers who had previously asked about them.
This was particularly useful when a product had features that were difficult to communicate through text alone.
A customer might ask, "Which type do you have?"
Instead of describing everything, I could send photographs showing the available models.
That reduced unnecessary back-and-forth.
It also helped customers make decisions before travelling to Alaba International Market.
I Built Relationships With Nearby Traders
I initially underestimated the importance of relationships with other traders.
I used to think that every nearby seller was automatically a competitor.
That was too simplistic.
Some traders sold the same products, but many businesses had different product mixes.
A phone seller might need an accessory that I stocked.
A repairer might have a customer looking for a particular cable.
Another trader might receive an enquiry for a product I had but they did not.
Over time, I developed relationships with several traders around me.
We sometimes referred customers to each other when it made sense.
This did not happen overnight.
It came from being reliable.
When another trader referred someone to me, I knew that how I treated that customer could affect whether the trader would refer another person in the future.
When I promised to check whether an item was available, I checked.
When I did not have something, I said so rather than pretending.
That reliability became an informal source of referrals.
I Tested Small Promotions Instead of Discounting Everything
I also experimented with promotions.
My first instinct was to discount everything.
I quickly realised that this would hurt my margins.
Instead, I tested small offers around selected products.
During one period, I offered a small discount when customers purchased certain combinations of accessories together.
A customer buying a charger and cable could receive a slightly better combined price than buying them separately.
I tracked the results for several weeks.
During one four-week period, I sold 67 qualifying bundles compared with 39 during the previous four weeks.
The increase was not entirely because of the promotion, so I did not treat the comparison as a scientific test. However, it gave me enough information to continue testing bundles rather than simply cutting individual product prices.
The purpose of the promotion was to encourage customers to purchase complementary products together rather than train customers to wait for discounts.
I Tried Flyers and Learned Why They Were Not Right for Me
I also spent money on printed flyers.
I ordered 1,000 small flyers and distributed them around areas where I thought potential customers might see them.
The total cost was about ₦32,000, including printing and distribution.
The result was disappointing.
I could directly trace only three enquiries to the flyers, and none of those enquiries resulted in a particularly large purchase.
That experience showed me that the way I used flyers did not produce enough value for my particular business.
My customers often wanted to see products physically before buying. A small piece of paper advertising my shop could not provide that experience.
I stopped spending heavily on flyers and concentrated on channels that gave me more direct interaction with customers.
I Also Learned Not to Confuse Social Media Activity With Sales
I posted products online several times.
Some posts received likes.
Some received comments.
A few received dozens of views.
At first, I thought this meant the marketing was working.
Then I checked my actual sales.
The connection was much weaker than I expected.
That taught me to distinguish social media engagement from actual business results.
A post could receive many views without generating a sale.
For my business, I became more interested in practical indicators.
How many people contacted me?
How many asked for prices?
How many requested availability?
How many eventually visited the shop?
How many purchased?
Those numbers told me more about the effectiveness of my marketing than the number of likes on a post.
My Marketing Started Becoming More Measurable
Eventually, I created a simple monthly marketing record.
For each customer who was willing to tell me, I recorded how they found the business.
During one three-month period, my records looked approximately like this:
| Customer Source | Customers | Estimated Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in customers | 173 | ₦1,286,000 |
| Existing customer referrals | 61 | ₦524,000 |
| WhatsApp contacts | 48 | ₦417,000 |
| Trader referrals | 32 | ₦301,000 |
| Social media enquiries | 19 | ₦146,000 |
| Flyers and printed promotions | 3 | ₦18,000 |
| Total tracked | 336 | ₦2,692,000 |
The figures were not perfect because customers did not always tell me exactly how they found my business.
Still, the records showed me which customer sources were producing measurable results.
Existing customers, WhatsApp contacts and relationships with other traders were becoming increasingly valuable to my business.
Customer Service Became My Cheapest Marketing Channel
The more I tracked the business, the more I realised that one of my strongest marketing assets was the experience customers had after entering my shop.
If someone bought a cable from me and it failed shortly afterwards, the way I handled the situation affected whether that person would return.
If a customer asked a question and I gave a dishonest answer simply to make a sale, I could gain one transaction while losing future business.
On the other hand, when I helped someone choose an appropriate product even when it was not the most expensive option, I had an opportunity to earn that customer's trust.
Trust did not always show up immediately in my sales records.
It could show up months later when that customer returned to buy something else or referred another person to my shop.
What My Numbers Looked Like After I Changed My Approach
By the third month, my business had become more organised.
I was still dealing with competition.
Customers still negotiated.
Some days were slow.
The difference was that I had stopped relying on one source of customers.
During my third month, I recorded approximately ₦1.08 million in sales compared with about ₦612,000 in the first month.
I did not attribute the entire increase to marketing.
My stock availability had improved, I understood my customers better, and I had also built a small base of repeat buyers.
Marketing played a role because more people were now finding my shop through referrals, WhatsApp and relationships with other traders.
The important part for me was understanding why customers were coming.
What I Would Do Differently If I Started Again
If I opened another electronics accessories shop in Alaba today, I would not begin by spending a large amount of money on advertising.
I would first spend time understanding the immediate market around the shop.
I would observe which products customers ask for, the prices competitors offer and the types of customers who regularly pass through the area.
I would make the shop easy to understand from outside.
Customers should be able to see what I sell without having to guess.
I would create a WhatsApp customer list from the beginning, but I would use it carefully and send relevant information rather than constant promotional messages.
I would also develop relationships with nearby traders instead of treating every seller as an enemy.
Most importantly, I would track where my customers come from.
Without that information, I could easily spend money on marketing without knowing which activities were actually producing customers and sales.
The Biggest Lesson Alaba Taught Me About Marketing
The biggest lesson I learned was that marketing my small electronics business was not necessarily about making the loudest noise.
In a market as competitive as Alaba International Market, many sellers can offer similar products.
Some can also offer lower prices.
Trying to beat every competitor on price would therefore not give me a sustainable advantage.
What worked better for me was giving customers several reasons to remember my shop.
They could find products without too much searching. They could ask questions without being pressured. They could contact me through WhatsApp. They could refer someone to me. They could return to my shop and expect consistent service.
These strategies did not require a massive advertising budget.
They required me to pay attention to what was happening around the shop and track which activities were producing actual business results.
What Worked and What Did Not
Looking back at my early marketing efforts, some strategies clearly performed better than others.
WhatsApp became one of the most useful channels because I could communicate directly with customers who had already shown interest in particular products.
Customer referrals also became valuable because existing customers introduced people who were already looking for electronics accessories.
Relationships with nearby traders generated additional referrals.
Clear product displays helped people understand what I sold before entering the shop.
Small bundle promotions helped me increase qualifying bundle sales from 39 during one four-week period to 67 during the following four-week period.
Printed flyers performed poorly for my business. I spent about ₦32,000 on 1,000 flyers and could directly trace only three enquiries to them.
Social media generated enquiries, but I found that likes, comments and views did not necessarily translate into sales.
The biggest change was that I stopped treating marketing as something I did only when sales were slow.
I began connecting marketing with the way I displayed products, answered WhatsApp messages, served customers, maintained relationships with other traders and recorded where my customers came from.
That gave me a clearer picture of what was actually bringing people to my shop in Alaba International Market.