When I interviewed Dr Christopher Kolade the former Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria Plc for my book, Nigerian Billionaires and Boardroom gurus speak on how to start and succeed in business, on where Cadbury placed customers on their scale of priorities, he had told me what no other CEO has ever told me.

Please let me digress a bit for better understanding. Nigerian billionaires and boardroom gurus speak on how to start and succeed in business was a book that I interviewed more than 30 Nigerian billionaires, the Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola, Jimoh Ibrahim,Orji Uzor Kalu, Chidi Anyaegbu(Chisco), Innocent Chukwuma (Innoson), Anthony Enukeme (Tonimas), of this world to mention just a few and as many boardroom gurus of blue chip companies as space could contain-the Christopher Kolade, Ade Ojo (Elizade), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Toni Ofuani ,Samuel Adegbite, Gbenga Aknnawo, Felix Osifo and the rest. Big apology to the Millennials and GenZs .I know that they would be lost.

Another thing is that Nigerian billionaires and board room gurus speak on how to start and succeed in business is the first and only book that Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Small/Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN) have ever written foreword for.

Back to Christopher Kolade. When I asked him where did Cadbury Nigeria Plc placed customers on their list of priorities, he had looked at me and said thus:

“If my staff offend me, I will forgive him but if my staff offend a customer I will not forgive him”

I was shocked by that tough position and I asked,

“Why?

Without mincing words he replied, “It is because of our customers that we are in business and without them we have no business. So whatever will make customers to continue making repeated purchases is what we do in Cadbury.”

That answer was apt and it stuck in my consciousness-It is because of customers that we are in business and without them we have no business.

That is the eternal truth in business. It is because of customers that you have a business.

But today, some people are building secrets and thinking that they are building businesses.

You can have the best product or service in the world but if you have no customer, you have no business.

You can also be the best in the world at what you do but if nobody knows about it and patronize or recommend you, you are not building a business rather you are building a secret.

Today’s business is all about customer consciousness.

Jeff Bezos, calls it customer centric or customer focus.

Today’s business is also more about networking, that is going out there, making friends and building relationships.

It is no longer the time to say, I am afraid to get on social media.

It is no longer the time to say I don’t want to be seen

Or I am not going to put myself out there.

We are no more in sellers world.

That era is gone with the dinosaurs.

This is buyers world, so you have to make yourself very visible.

You have to brand yourself personally and professionally and then throw yourself out there.

The more people know what you do, the more your product or service sell.

People must trust you before they would trust your product or service.

Research has shown that people usually buy from who they like.

So, you have to go out there and make yourself likeable.

You have to go out there, position yourself as an expert and talk about your product or service in a most convincing way.

Share your business with the world and show everyone the problem that your product or service can solve.

Zig Zigler famously declared thus “If you solve enough problems for enough people, you would make enough money for yourself”

That is how people become rich.

Memory words: Success does not go to the person with the best idea, it goes to the person that actually did something.

•Peter Anosike has a doctorate degree in Consulting and profit management. He is the international bestselling author of the book, Dangote’s Ten Commandments on money. He is also the founder of Ultimate Entrepreneurs Academy, an organization that trains students, undergraduates and even workers on how to become successful entrepreneurs