Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Google Business Profile: Your Free Growth Engine
Transcript
- 0:01Hello and welcome. My name is Tavishma Ayede.
- 0:04I'm the host of the podcast and I'm making today's recording in
- 0:07church because my kids are at catechism classes.
- 0:10So yeah, I'm making two episodes in the same day.
- 0:13Now, the goal of the podcast is solving business problems.
- 0:15So if you have issues with customers, issue with marketing,
- 0:18issues with sales, issues with your side hustle, something is
- 0:21holding a business back, then this is the show for you.
- 0:24Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or any player of your
- 0:27choice. And if you'd love to connect,
- 0:29then call SMS or WhatsApp me on 08064662140.
- 0:37Now today's episode, man, is an emergency episode.
- 0:41Today we're talking about how we can use, excuse me, Google
- 0:46business profiles to boost your business.
- 0:48Google Business Profile, for those of you who already know
- 0:52about it and you've been using it back in the day, you used to
- 0:55be called Google My Business. So if you've listened to any
- 0:58previous episode where I spoke about these sorts of things, I
- 1:00would have referred to it as Google My Business.
- 1:02But I just found out that there's been some changes.
- 1:05So it's now called Google Business Profile.
- 1:07Now, the reason why this is an emergency episode is because or
- 1:11more I, I was on the radio show that was on Tuesday trying to
- 1:16answer somebody's question. You know, he's a mechanic about
- 1:18how he can boost his business. I make sure on Google My
- 1:20Business and apparently the lots of people who don't know about
- 1:23these things as in like, forget that guy's a mechanic that
- 1:28people like you and me like educated fellows, like
- 1:31universities, masters level hustling couple of years.
- 1:35There are people who don't know about this.
- 1:37So after the radio show, you know, some people send
- 1:40questions. I spoke to somebody on the phone
- 1:43and the person was like that you are even talking about self.
- 1:46OK, Google My Business. I know it that what's our
- 1:48business and I was shocked as like how can Nigerians be
- 1:52telling me in 2025, they don't know Google My Business and they
- 1:55don't know what's our business. So that's why today's an
- 1:58emergency episode in case you're one of these people who's been
- 2:02listening. I didn't know that this thing
- 2:04existed because even I discovered it during my events,
- 2:10photography days, event photo and video.
- 2:12They had already been around for a while.
- 2:14So when somebody told me, the person was telling me as if
- 2:16like, look this in one day now, like it's established, you
- 2:19suppose no discounting. So that's the reason why I'm
- 2:22telling you guys because this thing is is old as anything is
- 2:26decades old. So if you didn't know before,
- 2:29please know now. Like I said, it's not about
- 2:33called Google. My business is called Google
- 2:34Business profile. So this is a free tool.
- 2:37And I repeat free as in Fr EE in capital letters.
- 2:42It's a free tool that we use to manage our online presence,
- 2:46especially in search and maps. Let me break it down for you,
- 2:49free tool. You're not spending money
- 2:52because you already have a Google account.
- 2:54Everybody has a Google account. Everybody apart from my late
- 2:57grandmother and she rest in peace because she refused to own
- 3:01the phone. You know, I don't know why.
- 3:02Maybe it was strange technology for her.
- 3:05So it's free as in The thing is in your pocket.
- 3:08As I'm speaking to you now, you're listening to this podcast
- 3:11with your headphones. Your head is on your, your phone
- 3:13is in your pocket or your phone is on the table or, you know,
- 3:17maybe your wife picked up your phone.
- 3:20She's playing Candy Crushes, interrupting this podcast.
- 3:22Go and tell her now. Like, babe, stop this Candy
- 3:24Crush. I'm listening to something on my
- 3:26phone right now, please. So it's free.
- 3:30It's already in your pocket. It's already on your phone.
- 3:32So we manage how people see us online.
- 3:36When somebody searches for me online, this is the thing I will
- 3:39use to manage it to curate my presence, to package myself so
- 3:44that when people come and see me online, you'd be like, what?
- 3:46This is a correct guy and you should be doing the same for
- 3:49your business too. Then it works especially for
- 3:52search and for maps. So when somebody's searching for
- 3:55something related to your business.
- 3:57So let's say you do Shawama and somebody types best Shawama in
- 4:01Abuja or correct Shawama in Lagos or affordable Shawama in
- 4:06Oshodi. You want to make sure that you
- 4:10show up in search is Google My Business that you use to manage
- 4:14that? Then especially in maps, for me,
- 4:16this is the best thing about Google My Business.
- 4:22Your address will come up. So if you're one of those
- 4:24places, like for my customers, the the diary sessions have been
- 4:28dropping. They have an office in Lakey.
- 4:30Somebody will click on the link and the thing will direct them
- 4:33straight. They will drive straight to your
- 4:34office. So for me, maps, the most
- 4:38beautiful part of Google business profile, somebody will
- 4:41drive straight to your business. Of course, you can do other
- 4:45things like put your WhatsApp link there, your phone number
- 4:47there, your e-mail will be there.
- 4:50So one click, somebody will call you straight.
- 4:54In fact, the first time it happened to me was really, I
- 4:56found it really, really impressive.
- 4:58You know, that people will just click on the link and then call
- 5:01me, you know, but now it's just a normal something.
- 5:04So it doesn't even want me anymore, but it happens, right?
- 5:08So what you do is you use Google a business profile, you create a
- 5:12well, business profile. Business profile just means you
- 5:16are creating a public listing. You're listening something on
- 5:19Google that everybody can see. The listening will carry your
- 5:22business name. It will show you a product or a
- 5:24service. It will show your address, your
- 5:25locality and how people can get in touch with you.
- 5:29Now the reason why I in the old days when I started off this
- 5:33podcast from 4-5 years ago, the reason why I should tell people,
- 5:35everybody do Google My Business is because if somebody Google's
- 5:40affordable Sharma and Oshodi or best shawarma in Abuja or, or
- 5:47what will I say imported shawarma in Leki, you will now
- 5:53show up. That's on the desktop because
- 5:55back in the day people used to browse a lot using computers.
- 5:57Now we all use our phones. So you will show up on the top
- 6:03right hand side of the Google results.
- 6:07They will show it will just be a box of three businesses where
- 6:10we'll just give you a brief, you know, business name, five stars.
- 6:15Some comments open Monday to Saturday, you know, click here.
- 6:19You might appear in those three. Now that is premium.
- 6:22That is gold because people recognize that those searches
- 6:26are organic, so they're not paid.
- 6:29So it's not as if somebody's advertising.
- 6:30So people are likely to click on those before they click on any
- 6:33other link. I know some of you who say AI is
- 6:37taking over here. But you know, that's the podcast
- 6:38episode for another day. You know, until then, for now,
- 6:41Nigerians still search on Google for lots of stuff.
- 6:46Yeah, I don't see Nigerians going to ChatGPT to now type.
- 6:52Where's the Besha arm in Abuja? You know that time will come.
- 6:55But for now, Besha Arm in Abuja, they will type it in Google.
- 6:59So another thing is Google Business profile gives you an
- 7:03opportunity to interact with your customers because people go
- 7:05there, they leave you reviews, they drop messages, all kinds of
- 7:07things. So I need direct access.
- 7:09You're having to to direct access you're having to people
- 7:13is pretty good, very, very good. So of course, like I said, your
- 7:17phone number will be there, your e-mail will be there.
- 7:19So people can e-mail you directly from Google Business
- 7:22profile, they can call you directly.
- 7:24Like I said, the first time it happened to me, I thought it was
- 7:27live film trick. How'd you get my number?
- 7:29Was oh, was it on Google? Your wasn't your Google My
- 7:32Business profile was like, oh, for real?
- 7:34So yeah, I said, OK, so this thing works.
- 7:38So please take advantage of it. Now it's a platform that you can
- 7:43update like any other platform. So you can put up photos from
- 7:46your business, photos of your product, put up videos, you
- 7:49know, I don't know, whatever video you want to put, whether
- 7:52it's your product or service or video testimonials from your
- 7:54clients, always updated for special offers or opening times
- 7:57or things like that. You know, Independence Day is
- 7:59coming up, will still be open or this Valentine's Day is coming
- 8:03up, we're giving 20% discount on wedding cakes, sorry, on
- 8:07Valentine's cakes, you know, blah, blah, blah, whatever.
- 8:11So this is the reason why I tell everybody to go and do this
- 8:15thing. And I'm surprised that people
- 8:17don't know about it. Like I said at the top of the
- 8:19episode, this thing is Fr EE, it is free.
- 8:24You have nothing to lose. Even if you don't want to be
- 8:28updated on that, just do it and then forget it later on when you
- 8:33learn some more. You can now take it to yours.
- 8:35But for now, just go ahead and do it.
- 8:37And now see, this is the thing lots of people don't realize
- 8:40because Google wants to give a good experience.
- 8:43The thing is, Google has already started creating certain kinds
- 8:46of information around you and your business anyway, So The
- 8:50thing is probably already showing up.
- 8:51All you now have to do is go there and claim your business
- 8:55listing. Google will say, Are you sure
- 8:57you are this business? You say yes, so I approve it.
- 8:59You go through some exercises and they'll let you have the
- 9:02profile. So for lots of businesses,
- 9:03they're already building it. And that is how I discovered
- 9:05mine. I can't remember who it was that
- 9:08told me and I went and checked and I saw that there already was
- 9:12a profile for IED film and photography.
- 9:14That was my business. I say here, there's already a
- 9:17profile. All I had to do was claim.
- 9:19So I clicked on claim this profile and now we now run
- 9:23through a bunch of exercises to be sure that I was who I said I
- 9:26was. Then I have full control and now
- 9:28put correct profile picture. I started putting customer
- 9:31picture. I started putting any time that
- 9:34I put photos on Instagram, I'll run put it there as well, get
- 9:38visibility, try and get people to give me some reviews, you
- 9:42know, and I started showing up when people are searching for
- 9:47stuff. The only thing that pay me was
- 9:49that the people who call is all these people don't want to shoot
- 9:52passport. And I'm like, what the hell with
- 9:53this passport people, because there's no money in passport
- 9:57actually wait and get and all that.
- 9:58I was like, look, I want like wedding, wedding money, event
- 10:02money. That's what I'm looking for.
- 10:03You passport people. Stop calling me.
- 10:06Yeah, so by me, it works. I will get wedding calls.
- 10:09But their passport people. Yeah, that one, those ones will
- 10:12call every week. People always need passports
- 10:14last minute. So as taking advantage of it, I
- 10:19beg. The thing is free.
- 10:21Especially since you know how Google can be.
- 10:23Sometimes they just go and disappear on products.
- 10:25Like Google had its own social media.
- 10:28I can't remember what it was called.
- 10:29Like those. What was it called again?
- 10:33Google something I can't remember and some of us spent
- 10:36time on that, on that social media as in building an
- 10:40alternative presence to Facebook.
- 10:41And then one day overnight Google just disappeared the
- 10:44whole thing. So please take advantage of
- 10:46Google business profile before one day Google say, you know
- 10:49what, disappearing this thing, at least come and take advantage
- 10:51of it while it lasts. Then apart from me being free,
- 10:56the reason why I take advantage is because people trust Google.
- 11:00So anything they see on Google, it must be true.
- 11:03So if they search, I've been taking advantage of my profile
- 11:06and I've been doing a good job getting reviews and stuff like
- 11:09that. And then you and me were
- 11:12competitors, were in the same space.
- 11:14Your own business comes up. You have not claimed your own
- 11:16profile, You did not optimize it.
- 11:18You didn't do anything but me. I've been on top of my game and
- 11:21I've been optimizing it. I've been getting engaged when
- 11:24they're getting reviews there and it shows up that my own
- 11:26business has 3.8 star review from 507 customers.
- 11:35And then meanwhile you, you didn't even touch your own.
- 11:37Who do you think that won't you believe they'll say well 3.8
- 11:42would have been good if he has 4.5 stars but at least don't
- 11:45know the OK. This is a business that's alive
- 11:47and well, but you know, truly, truly, honestly, honestly, you
- 11:51might even be a better person than me, but because I packaged
- 11:55myself well on Google, people click through like oh, Google
- 11:59never lies. They'll pick through and then
- 12:00they'll call me. Then this also serves as a mini
- 12:04website. That's one thing I really,
- 12:05really liked after the call that's after the radio show.
- 12:08I was talking to someone person was like this is sounds like a
- 12:10small website and I say very good.
- 12:13It is a mini website. It is a free website for you.
- 12:16So if you don't have money to go and do website for now be
- 12:19managing this thing, Google business profile, please.
- 12:24So tell me. So that's just it.
- 12:28I just want you guys to know that this thing is available
- 12:31since there are lots of people who don't know.
- 12:33So that's the reason why I'm making today's emergency
- 12:35episode. This thing exists, it is out
- 12:37there, it is free. These are the benefits.
- 12:39Now this is how to create your profile.
- 12:41By the way, Google is not paying me anything.
- 12:43So don't worry, there's no, they're not giving me Commission
- 12:45here. You know, I haven't I haven't
- 12:47blown like that yet for them to start thinking of paying me.
- 12:51What's it called? What do you call it?
- 12:52I can't remember what it's called anyway, so nobody's
- 12:56paying me. So this is what you do to create
- 12:59your own profile. Sign into Google, create your
- 13:00Google account. Except if you are my
- 13:02grandmother, I said you already have a Google profile.
- 13:06The thing is, you just can't remember that you set it up
- 13:08because the first time you got your Android phone, you had to
- 13:10create a Google profile to get access to it.
- 13:12So trust me, you already have it.
- 13:16So I think you already have it. So create your Google account.
- 13:21Step one. Step 2 go to Business dot
- 13:25google.com/add again you go to Business BUS, not Z Business dot
- 13:33Google. Google how to say Google because
- 13:37you know my Yoruba people now you would like to say Google.
- 13:40If I remember the first time I heard Google when I was in
- 13:42university, I said I need to laugh.
- 13:44But I knew that if I laughed too much to be able to tell me slap.
- 13:47So I just kept quiet. So you're a people you're saying
- 13:50Google, Google. It's not Google, it's Google.
- 13:53So business.google.com/ADD add or you can do what I did.
- 14:00I just searched Google My Business and then that's how I
- 14:03founded something. But now don't search Google My
- 14:06Business, search Google Business profile.
- 14:09Therefore, those of you who are like me, like you do it.
- 14:12You now see that there's really a profile for my business.
- 14:15Just click on claim now or manage now.
- 14:20The rest of you, I think you will click on create or
- 14:22something. But anyway, The thing is
- 14:24straightforward, like another radio listener was wondering
- 14:27like he will call for guidance. No, no, this is not a guidance
- 14:30or something. It is very, very, very, very
- 14:33direct. The English is not too much.
- 14:36There's some things you have to think about like when it says
- 14:38business description, don't just go and put Sharma.
- 14:43So there's some things you have to think about business
- 14:45description. You want to talk about your
- 14:47business in a way that when people read this description
- 14:49that don't want to on the F with you, you understand me Describe
- 14:53your Sharma in such a way that when people see they want to eat
- 14:56your Sharma. So don't just go and put
- 14:59business, you know Sharma. No, no, no, no.
- 15:02So for that one you have to think.
- 15:04But the process is a very is a very auto save kind of
- 15:10something. So do what you can do today,
- 15:14save the other ones. Think about it, come back
- 15:18tomorrow and then continue. It's not a safe if you don't
- 15:20complete it, the thing will not if you want, sorry, excuse me,
- 15:26It's not as if if you don't complete the whole process
- 15:29today, the thing will show. So there's no problem.
- 15:31Go there, claim now, manage now create now whatever option it
- 15:36is, click start entering your details business name, put it
- 15:38there somebody else. If you need to be registered on
- 15:41the CAC, you know, for the purposes of Google is is not as
- 15:45if you need to, but you know to do business in Nigeria, actually
- 15:50you should be registered on the CAC and FIRS.
- 15:54So those of us who are dodging the law, I understand how it can
- 15:58be in the beginning. You don't have money and you
- 16:01know, you don't want to pay tax. You don't want to, you know, I
- 16:03understand, but at some point we have to do the needful.
- 16:08So enter your business name, select your category, put the
- 16:11business address. Please do not put your business
- 16:14address because this is for the whole wide world.
- 16:17You do not want people to know where you live.
- 16:19You are your girlfriend, you are your children, you are your no.
- 16:22So put your business address. If you don't have business
- 16:24address, no problem. There are ways around it, like
- 16:26when I started the podcast, by the time I started the podcast,
- 16:29I had shut down my studio so I didn't have an office address
- 16:32anymore. So I did not put down address
- 16:35for the podcast. I needed to do verification.
- 16:37What I did was video verification.
- 16:41Now verification is what Google does to make sure that you are
- 16:44who you say you are because Google is trying to avoid scam.
- 16:47They're trying to avoid spam. That's spam.
- 16:50If you thought of something else you need Jesus where renew your
- 16:52mind. So they're trying to avoid spam,
- 16:55spam. They're also trying to avoid
- 16:57419. They're also trying to avoid
- 16:59fraud. So what do you do is Google will
- 17:02say verify yourself. Now during my own time, I don't
- 17:06know if they still do it. Now those postcard, you can
- 17:08click on postcard. They will send a letter to your
- 17:10address. You will now get the letter.
- 17:12You will now go online and you now type in the verification
- 17:15code. Google will now say, oh, OK, we
- 17:18sent this letter to Oshodi. Somebody picked this letter and
- 17:23entered verification code. Therefore, this must be a legit
- 17:25business. So postcard was available.
- 17:29Mommy, I didn't pick postcard because I do not trust Nypost.
- 17:33I don't back when Nypost even used to walk.
- 17:37I remember back then in secondary school if I write my
- 17:39letter to Popsy because I was dying and I needed sustenance as
- 17:43and I need money now, now now used to take three weeks for my
- 17:46letter to reach the guy and it will take another three weeks
- 17:49for my father's letter to get back to me.
- 17:51And of course my father will not respond for another like you
- 17:53know, two or three weeks. In other words, I'll write the
- 17:56letter by the time the response comes back.
- 17:58I've already gone home for holiday and come back as in the
- 18:01need for sustenance has passed. So I do not trust Naples for
- 18:04nothing. My boy was time for my master's
- 18:07and they said I should send send the the what do you call
- 18:13transcript through post? I say post me, I'll give Naples.
- 18:17I said no way. I did whatever I could to get my
- 18:20transcript from OAU so I could send the thing by DHL because I
- 18:24said this thing about Naples. It's not, it's not me and you
- 18:27before the school now tell me that the transcript has missed
- 18:31after all the stress and I went through to get my transcript.
- 18:34So I don't trust my post. So I didn't select postcard.
- 18:38So the first time around what I selected was phone or text.
- 18:40They will call you but every time they were calling now the
- 18:44phone will just keep cutting. Just cutting the call like 3 or
- 18:474 times you think caught I said OK no problem and now selected
- 18:50text to verify by text. They sent me a text, I entered
- 18:52the verification code and then bam that was it we're good to
- 18:55go. So back in the old days,
- 18:57verification was by postcard. Now I know for sure that you can
- 19:00verify by post and text or by e-mail.
- 19:03Just enter your verification code.
- 19:05But for those of you who have issues with address, like
- 19:08somebody called in, she was like, she's been trying to
- 19:10verify this thing. But the problem is the people
- 19:13that own the Plaza where she does her salon, they have
- 19:16already done the Google My Business thing for the whole
- 19:19Plaza. So it's not allowing her to
- 19:21create for her own small shops. That's OK.
- 19:22You know what, let's try and break it down.
- 19:24You know, shop 6B something something Plaza.
- 19:27Maybe that'll work. If that doesn't work, then maybe
- 19:29you can do video verification. So nowadays, like during my own
- 19:34time, video verification, I just looked into the camera.
- 19:37Then they told me to look left. I look left, they say look
- 19:39right. As I look right, they say look
- 19:41up. I look up, look down, look down.
- 19:43Then turn around, turn around. Then you know, that's how they
- 19:46verified me. Well here the nowadays, apart
- 19:49from these face and location, you now do signage.
- 19:52You go outside, do say snap your your billboard, you snap it and
- 19:56then upload. So there are options that are
- 19:58available. Then please, now that you've
- 20:00claimed this thing, begin to optimize, update your hours.
- 20:04When are you open open for so, so, so, so, so description.
- 20:07Please work on that description. Good description.
- 20:10Nowadays we have good AI tools, we have char GPT, we have Google
- 20:14Gemini. There is no excuse now for you
- 20:16not to be able to describe your Sharma business in a very mouth
- 20:19watering way. Please don't just go and put
- 20:22Sharma. Your comp, your your competitors
- 20:25who are trying to put stuff up on their Google My Business
- 20:28profile. They're doing their best to make
- 20:30their own. You know, you say Abuja's
- 20:32finest, you know, avant-garde something, something juiciest,
- 20:37sweetest, you know, like they will, you know, don't play it
- 20:41up. Don't butter it very well.
- 20:43Don't just want to put Sharma. So use AI tools, get a nice
- 20:48description, then always a beg, always.
- 20:51This thing is algorithmic. Always be uploading photos,
- 20:54always be uploading photos, always be uploading videos.
- 20:57You make a correct shawarma. He say, I did shawarma.
- 21:00The shawarma looks like he has master's degree.
- 21:02Snap it and put it, then put some small text underneath it.
- 21:08You know, double something, something cheese, whatever,
- 21:11whatever Shawarma. We love to wow our customers and
- 21:13they do update and people search on Google best Sharma in Abuja
- 21:21and your own comes up. You know 20 people have given
- 21:26you 4.8 Google review and then they can see pictures where
- 21:30Sharma's there. Maybe you put like 62 picture of
- 21:34Sharma, maybe 23 picture of Jollof rice and 16 pictures of
- 21:39stick meats. You understand, you know your
- 21:42profile is really looking healthy.
- 21:44Is reason for somebody to say, you know what let's try this guy
- 21:48so optimize optimize, optimize your profile and then you will
- 21:54start getting value and then the time will come when I was a
- 21:58young photographer minding my own business and then I don't
- 22:00know call came and then I picked up so is this a different
- 22:03photography? I say yes.
- 22:04Are you available for so so so so oh by the way, how did you
- 22:07get my phone number? Oh, I saw it on Google.
- 22:10You have that experience as well and like I told you the first
- 22:14time will happen to you. It will be a very sweet
- 22:16experience to say this thing that I fixed for free.
- 22:19Like truly, people can just be buzzing me like that.
- 22:22It's a very, very sweet experience.
- 22:24So take advantage of all this stuff, OK?
- 22:27I think after this, I'll make the WhatsApp Business episode.
- 22:33That's also an emergency episode for those of you who do not know
- 22:35about WhatsApp Business, as in I'm surprised.
- 22:39I mean, 2025, the kind of things that I have to repeat.
- 22:43But anyway, this is a public service episode so that you guys
- 22:46will know what's up, what's out there and free resources that
- 22:50are there for that you can use to promote your business.
- 22:52So that's all for today. That's it and that's all.
- 22:55If you'd love to connect, please call SMS or WhatsApp me on
- 22:5808064662140. Thank you for your time and
- 23:03attention. I'll catch you next time.
- 23:05Same place in your headphones or in your speakers.