eBusiness Weekly
Joseline Sithole
All of us have experienced some rather unpleasant encounters from our kombi drivers and their conductors. As indicated in my article last week, their customer care skills need a lot of improvement. One caption in a kombi read, “If you have any complaints please get down.” However, I will ignore all your protestations and your accusations of “treachery” and today play the “devil’s advocate.” I will like to argue, that kombi drivers have an ardent and judicious business sense that MSMEs and even our corporate companies can also benefit from. In this article kombis denote both the kombi driver and the conductor.
Lesson 1: Urgency
We have all heard our kombis, screaming “Action, Action”. Action in kombi lingo means, let’s hurry up. John Kotter writing in the Harvard Review, argues that “Businesses need to have a sense of urgency as the rate of change is always going up.” To this end, MSMEs thus need to take “action” in keeping up with new trends, product lines and other issues, as they might be swallowed by competition.
According to the National Association of Small Businesses 2017 Economic Report, only 56 percent of start-ups in the United States made to the fifth year. Out of the 46 percent who did not make it, 19 percent got outclassed by their competition.
Lesson 2: Grit
Our kombis possess “bucketfuls” of this characteristic, which many MSMEs do not have. According to Dr Pragyya Agarwal, a leading human science behaviourist, Grit is an “unwavering faith and dogged determination to follow through with what you want to do and believe in”. Despite challenging economic conditions, kombis have staying power and show dogged determination to be a major player in the transport industry.
In the same breadth, MSMEs should know that the process of building powerful brands is long and arduous and requires determination.
According to Sagar Rathod, a technology communication expert writing for the Quora Digest it takes at least four years “just to get pointed toward real business” and 7-10 years to make your company a success.
Lesson 3: Hardworking
We have heard from “sleep activists” that we are supposed to sleep for eight hours. However, a deep dive survey from SODECO among kombis revealed that a normal working day for kombis starts at around 4am up to about 10pm.
This means that on average, kombis sleep for about six hours. According to Dale Schools, Founder of Entrepreneur Handbook “there is no universal silver bullet or best sleeping habit”. On average CEOs of best performing companies sleep for about four hours.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO starts his day at 3.45am, PEPSCO CEO, Indira Nooyi and Marissa Mayer both sleep 4-5 hours. It is undisputable that sleep has a lot of health benefits but like our kombis, if one wants their businesses to grow, MSMEs might need to forfeit the comfort of their beds early until their businesses are well set up.
Coupled with this, their work involves a lot of physical energy. (Imagine shouting “Mbare Mbare” the whole day while opening, closing doors and taking taxi fares). Proverbs 20 verse 13 exhorts not to love sleep, or will grow poor, but to stay awake so that we will have food to spare.
Lesson 4: Adaptability
With their low cost pricing structure, ZUPCO buses are a major threat to kombis. However, kombis who ply the Mount Pleasant route have employed guerrilla tactics to ward off the competition. According to Gidza, a conductor at one of the ranks in town: “We leave the bus to go and pick up everyone, then we only go after the bus has left the route.”
In this way, he says they have about a two hour leeway to pick up all the remaining passengers who would have missed the bus.
Conversely, some kombis downright lie that the bus has broken down and they have not seen it at the rank. Kombi drivers also employ other tactics. The running battles with the police and municipal officers have also led kombis to re-engineer their door handles to reduce the chances of being “hijacked”. (I am, however, not proud of this ingenuity but it’s the principle that matters — Uuumh!!! guys please follow municipal rules).
Lesson 5: Market segmentation
Kombis are like airplanes that have two types of passengers; economy class and what I will call “ordinary class passengers”. Everyone is free to negotiate as long as the “talks” are conducted before one boards the kombi.
However, if one does not have the requisite fare you are most likely are going to sit on the “Facebook” or “Kadoma” section of the kombi. (This is a tight, little and uncomfortable space behind the driver normally reserved for school children. You know that you are broke when you find yourself sitting on this section).
In the same breadth, kombis are very clear on their target market and their importance. An explanation of kombi lingo will suffice here. The word “shura” (bad omen) is meant to denote a lot of passengers lined up on the route. When they spot a passenger, they unashamedly refer to that passenger as “money”.
The look of kombis when they see passengers is priceless. They show their excitement, a lesson that all MSMEs should learn.
Lesson 6: Branding
Kombi vehicles mirror a lot of societal values and current conversations that are taking place. Kombi names are both hilarious and can express different sentiments on current conversations. Who will not forget those days when the quail birds “zvihuta” came upon us with their promises of good health? All kombis were named “chihuta” (including our beautiful daughters.) Recent interesting ones I have seen are; “MuNigeria”, “Slay Queen” and “Chibaba”. A more hilarious caption read “15 Gorgeous Ladies and Three Serious Gentleman”. From hanging stuffed monkeys tied to their front mirrors to tinted glasses, heavily “pimped rims” and loud blasting, dancehall music, kombis provide us with a lot of aesthetic and sometimes shocking moments. Kombis that ply the Mabvuku route take the trophy for being the most “pimped”, a word that denotes extreme decoration of a vehicle (Watch Pimp my ride on MTV DSTV).
Lesson 7: Competitor analysis
Kombis have an intimate knowledge of their competition. They are keenly aware of the habits of their fellow kombis and have become very astute at reading and predicting how their competition behaves on the road. In addition they react intuitively to any competition that might come their way.
A “gap” is when there is a distance between the last car that picked up passengers and the next one on the line. Identifying the size of “gaps” ensures that taxi drivers are able to quickly make decisions on whether they should continue or offload their “money” to a kombi that is nearly full.” MSMEs thus need to ensure that they thoroughly analyse their competitors. According to Bill Gates ;“A company’s ability to respond to an unplanned event, good or bad is a prime indicator of its ability to compete”.
Lesson 8: Use of correct
and capable resources
I understand from some of the drivers that the Toyota Hiace and Nissan Caravan are the best vehicle types for this kind of business. These vehicle models are revered for their ability to take off quickly and their sturdiness. The selection of human resources for this industry is also remarkable. Our survey revealed low education levels among this group. However, where kombis lack in academic education, they make up for it with their marketing and aggressive attitudes towards business. A conductor should ideally have a voice box that is capable of shouting “Copacabana” or “Town here” all day.
In addition, they should have the capability of hanging out of the kombis, energy to quickly close and open kombi doors and that remarkable “owl” like ability to have a 360 degree surveillance of all roads while the kombi is travelling at high speeds.
In conclusion, I have left some key lessons such as marketing and strategy formulation. The Marketing Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) in one of the Marketer Issues, did a brilliant article on this group’s marketing skills. (I suggest you call the MAZ and get a copy). Hopefully, reader after reading this you will show a little respect to this otherwise unappreciated business demographic.
Joseline Sithole is the Founder of Southern Africa Development Consultants, an SME research and consulting company. Comments on [email protected]
