THE "NIKUHAMA" CULTURE

It is generally acknowledged that to seriously go into business, one needs a healthy mix of two ingredients. These are a) one time customers i.e. customers who probably only show up one time, buy the goods/services on offer and then are never seen again, and b) a constant flow of loyal customers who keep returning because of several factors.

However, in Kenya, over the past recent years, a new culture is emerging. This is the culture of “kuhama” or in English, it is that of portability. Loyalty is being slowly phased out. Customers don’t feel a strong enough reason to be loyal to one seller or supplier of the good or service they are in need of. This is either a worrisome trend or a wonderful one depending on which side one looks at it from. It means that either one is losing or one is gaining depending on how one responds to this challenge.

The “Nikuhama” culture has been most openly demonstrated in the telecommunications industry especially in the mobile phone sector. This has been touted as the fastest growing sector of our economy with revenue levels that are among the very best in Africa. As at the time of writing this article, there are four service providers in this sector. Though in their own advertisements and marketing they individually claim to command a specific number of clients, the evidence is that most of these clients are not strictly loyal to a particular provider but rather are owners of multiple SIM cards of the different providers that exist in the market.

Banks have also not been left behind, because many clients own different bank accounts with different banking institutions. Kiosks, cyber cafes, shops, supermarkets, hospitals, schools and even churches among many more, are struggling with this new phenomenon. The loyal customers are being replaced with one time customers who try out ones products for the sole reason of just trying it out. If a seemingly better offer emerges in another place, or even close to the one they have just tried out, they shift their attention to that new entity.

The challenge then, is for the suppliers or sellers or providers of the goods and services which are needed by Kenyans, to come up with creative and innovative ideas of embracing this culture and changing the way they operate, or come up with new ways of ensuring that they are able to retain their very own customers. Whichever of these one opts for, the fact is that change is here. It will no longer be a case of business as usual.