Dr MAWO Martin
Researcher Marketing PsychicSpecializing in behavioral science
Explore Before You Exploit: Why African Businesses Need a Loose Marketing Strategy
Our businesses are becoming more structured, more measured, more process-driven yet many are becoming less bold. We are building dashboards faster than we are building differentiated brands. In emerging markets, that is a dangerous imbalance. Africa does not reward...
What Marketers Know That Economists Don’t?
In business, what we call “strategy” is often retrospective storytelling. We design frameworks. We build dashboards. We track KPIs to the decimal point. All of it gives us a comforting illusion of control. But the uncomfortable truth is this: many breakthroughs in...
Why Africa’s Business Growth Requires Behavioral Marketing Freedom
Across Africa, I observe a recurring mistake in business strategy: the belief that numerical roadmaps alone can solve market challenges. Spreadsheets are expanding. Dashboards are multiplying. KPIs are tightening. Yet sales are stagnating. The issue is not a lack of...
The Human Engine: How Staff Culture Shapes the Passenger’s Emotional Journey
Airlines spend millions on aircraft, systems, and marketing yet the most powerful differentiator remains the human culture passengers meet at every touchpoint. A bad staff culture becomes a brand liability. A healthy staff culture becomes a competitive advantage. In...
The Psychological Mistakes That Keep Airline Customers Away
Air travel is often misunderstood as a technical business, a matter of aircraft, fuel, schedules, and safety protocols. But after years of observing business systems, customer behavior, and service gaps across industries, I have come to a simple conclusion: airlines...
Pennywise and Pound Foolish: How Misguided Cost Cutting Is Slowing Down Rwandan Businesses
In Rwanda and across East Africa, many businesses are unknowingly undermining their own growth through a dangerous habit trying to save money in the wrong places. It’s what the English proverb calls being pennywise and pound foolish saving a few francs today only to...
Why Marketing Works Better With a Limited Budget, The Hidden Power of Perception Over Reality
Introduction: The Paradox of Marketing Power In business, it seems logical that the bigger the marketing budget, the stronger the impact. Yet the opposite is often true. Many of the world’s most iconic marketing movements from Red Bull to Airbnb started not with deep...
Your First Customer Should Be Your Employees, How Real and Feasible Is It?
It sounds poetic “Your first customer is your employees.” But beyond the quote, there’s a practical truth that defines whether organizations build sustainable growth or struggle with silent disengagement. 1. Employees Are the First Market You Must Convince Before your...
Why City-Centric Development Weakens Nations and How to Build Prosperity Everywhere
Across the developing world, cities are expanding at an unprecedented pace. Governments, investors, and talent are all drawn to the same urban centers chasing opportunities, infrastructure, and visibility. But when development becomes too city-centric, it quietly...
The Secret Behind Long-Lasting Family Businesses: An Obsession with Customers
Across Africa, many family businesses fail to survive beyond the first generation not only because of poor succession planning, but also because of a deeper issue: a lack of marketing and customer focus. While founders are often driven by passion and hard work, they...
Why Clients Don’t Just “Get It” And What to Do About It
In business, one of the biggest frustrations is this: Clients don’t always do what we want even when it seems obvious. We might assume that if our product or service is clearly valuable, clients will naturally understand and take action. Or that if we explain things...
How Marketing Can Create Human Happiness
Introduction: Marketing Beyond Sales Most people see marketing as flashy ads or persuasive campaigns. In reality, marketing is about people, psychology, and happiness. It connects customers with what they value most, makes life easier, and helps businesses build...