On Saturday, I walked into a phone hub and noticed a quiet difference in the premium smartphones sitting behind the glass.
When I looked at the “African versions” of the world’s biggest mobile brands, I spot a distinct feature. They all have double sim slots while the US version has one.
It wasn’t always this way. For years, global tech giants enforced a strict “one phone, one SIM” standard. They operated on a common, yet dangerous, business misconception: If we build a great product, they will buy it as it is.
But the African market operates on its own reality. Most Nigerians use at least two SIM cards because if the signal is poor on one, they can use the other.
While the global giants were busy dictating terms, another brand was observing. Tecno entered the market and did something revolutionary only by paying attention. They introduced phones with two and sometimes up to four SIM card slots.
They didn’t change the consumer’s behavior. They built a product that fit into the consumer’s existing reality. Users exercised their power of choice, and Tecno captured massive market share.
Today, every other major brand had to adjust. They now produce localized versions of their flagship devices to compete.
For any product you are building, give the market what it want, not what you have. Your product must adapt to the user, because the user will rarely adapt to your product.
Keep building.
Oluboba Ayodeji.