I
n December 2018 Mookies Munchies, a local hamburger fast food outlet officially opened its doors to the public in Kagiso, Gauteng. In just a few months Amukelani (Amu) Baloyi, had managed to build a healthy client base and her business was growing steadily. However, in 2020 the Covid pandemic hit and changed the rules of the game for Mookies Munchies. Like everyone else, Amu was forced to close and rethink her business model.
When the lockdown rules got relaxed, she quickly introduced delivery services and started delivering meals on scooters, since customers were not yet allowed to have sit in meals. This also meant finding innovative ways to enable her customers to pay digitally. “I immediately adopted the Yoco payment platform, which allowed me to accept card payments, and online payments instantly,” explains Amu.
At the time she did not think much of digitalising her entire operations. However, a few months later, a competitor came into the area offering the same services as Mookies Munchies. The novelty and frenzy of a new experience got the better of some of Amu’s customers, and they started buying from the new restaurant. Immediately, Amu started thinking about how she could digitalise her business to improve her operations, but she did not know how and where to start.
“I immediately adopted the Yoco payment platform, which allowed me to accept card payments, and online payments instantly.”
Amu decided to take her Digital Progression journey to the next level by applying for the DigiBiz Coaching Programme. DigiBiz offers useful digital progression support to small business owners. The programme brings together an ecosystem of professionals to support and boost small business growth and innovation in South Africa.
She was matched with experienced leadership coach Dr Jabulile Msimango-Galawe, who authored the book Dear Mr Entrepreneurship and has 20 years of experience in the entrepreneurship space.
“My SMART digital goal was to digitalise the business and grow sales through online sales and social media platforms.”
Amu says that after speaking with her coach she had clarity on how to digitalise and move the business forward. “My SMART digital goal was to digitalise the business and grow sales through online sales and social media platforms,” said Amu.
Amu began exploring digital tools and platforms like Google Analytics, LinkedIn, CRM systems and many more. After testing a couple of tools which couldn’t not address her needs, Amu was introduced to the ZOHO Social App which was a perfect fit for social media especially growing reach and engagement. She started testing ZOHO with the free trial version and she could not believe the transformation that her business experienced in just a few weeks.
“I like the fact that you get to test the ZOHO App with a free trial first before you can decide if it’s suitable for your business. It’s also really affordable, so was a great option for small businesses like Mookies Munchiies,” says Amu.
From her experience, ZOHO is very user-friendly and customizable, such that anyone can tailor it to their specific needs. “In the time I’ve used the ZOHO Social App, it’s been easy to create and send out Mookies Munchiies promotional campaigns to my customers on several platforms. I can schedule multiple posts on different platforms at the press of a button, giving me more time in the kitchen to create exciting new menus for my customers.” Scheduling posts is now a walk in the park, as it now just takes a few hours to plan social media content for the whole month.
“I like the fact that you get to test the ZOHO App with a free trial first before you can decide if it’s suitable for your business.”
Consequently, Mookies Munchies has witnessed approximately 25% growth in sales and its online customer engagement grew from 5k to 13,9k. In terms of challenges faced during the implementation, Amu highlighted initial setup and configuration. “The initial learning curve of the application is challenging. I think one of the more difficult aspects of the ZOHO App for me was the initial setup and configuration. There are a lot of settings and options to choose from, and it can be a little overwhelming at first. However, once I got the hang of it, the application was easy to use,” explains Ms Baloyi.”
Amu says, “I have seen what the right digital tools and platform can do. It has changed my business completely and I now have time to even attend events and training for self-development so I can be a better chef and entrepreneur. ”
_________
Written by Dr Jabulile Msimango-Galawe for DigiBiz Programme
© 2023 Entrepreneurial Planning Institute
For more information on the DigiBiz Programme, contact DigiBiz@the-epi.org
To join the DigiBiz Network, go to https://DigiBiz.net.za