Target has invested in networking by joining several organizations and networks. Why, and what are the benefits for the firm? Serge Mumbu, Target's General Manager, answers in an interview for the firm's eighth-anniversary celebration.
Investing in networking is a deliberate choice that Target has made for two main reasons: to popularize the firm's work and to diversify its client portfolio. When Target was founded in 2011, the leading clients in the research industry were only telecoms and brewing companies. "If you didn't have them, you had no market. And to get them, you had to go through well-known contacts, who ultimately considered themselves gods," recalls Serge Mumbu.
The first step taken by Target in its networking approach is the integration into ESOMAR, the global association of market research professionals whose mission is to promote market research worldwide and improve decision-making. Target joined in 2012 and became the representative for Central Africa. At the various ESOMAR congresses, Target meets people unfamiliar with the DRC or the Central African region, presents the firm's work, and establishes contacts. As time went by, the integration in this network bore its fruits. Several markets will be obtained thanks to the contacts established through ESOMAR.
In 2016, Target participated in creating the African Association of Market Research Professionals AMRA. Beyond obtaining new markets, these international networks also allow Target to learn the best practices of the trade by benefiting from the experience of other professionals in the sector.
On the national level, Target joined two chambers of commerce. First, the American Chamber of Commerce and then the French one. The great advantage at this level is meeting the leaders and heads of public and private companies. In 2017, Target integrated what is today the most extensive network of Congolese businessmen and company managers, the Makutano.
That year, Serge Mumbu was awarded the "best local course," and since then, Target has gradually established itself as the reference market research firm in DRC and Central Africa.
Since the benefits of networking are undisputed, Target still intends to invest in networking for the years to come. "Without networking, it is impossible to evolve in business," rightly believes Serge Mumbu.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 - 07:55