Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Onyekachi Eze. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Onyekachi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I was born in the eastern part of Nigeria in a very humble home, my father was a priest in a nearly buy community church, and my mum and graphic artist. She made amazing artwork with canvas, brushes, oil paints, and poster colors. Far from what it is today, with the help of tools like photoshop, illustrator, etc. I learned fundamentally by observation and being close to my mother to draw and paint. I also practiced a few religious activities I found my father performing, just a mini-version of the same at home, including helping the church and community members find solutions to their problems. I found joy in playing with my toys just like many other kids, but it seemed to mine was a bit weird, I ripped my toys apart with the purpose to find out how it was built and found a way to piece them back together in a different manner.

My name is Onyekachi Ezenwnaili, popularly known as Kachi Eze, although my friends refer to me as Dr. Poe. am a Brand Identity Designer, Strategist, and Communications Analyst. I began as a graphic designer and transited gradually into brand design and strategy. In the past 11 years, I have learned from great mentors, brand and business leaders in various sphere arranging from Human resource management, Edu-Tech, Fintech, Real Estate, and Entertainment. Working as a freelancer, with agencies and corporate organizations, has expounded my experience in the field. Beyond my experiences and personal development, one thing that has stood out to me is my passion to rip ideas and piece them back together to create something new from an existing idea or almost from nothing.

Over the years, my mission has been to become the brand backbone for many companies emerging from my continent and around the world. As a young enthusiast, I attended a business conference in 2014, where we learned about business models and how to build a sustainable business that can thrive in our economy. The event continued with various activities and talks from guests. While I sat through these presentations, one thing kept ringing in my head, which puzzled me until the event was over: one of the speakers cited statistics stating that 90% of the African economy’s drivers are generated by small businesses and enterprises, but only 30% make it through in four years.

What could the cause be? Could it be that they don’t have enough government or venture capitalist support? Is it possible that the business plan is incorrect? Is it possible that there isn’t enough information available about starting a business or forming strong partnerships? At the same time, I had the impression that there were more reasons than these, though more than one of them might come into play if not a combination of all.
Whatever the reasons, I discovered from my observations that most of the small businesses I know struggled because they were unable to define who they are, who they serve, and why they exist in the first place. The priority for many was to own a business to make more money and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Some say they started the business simply to avoid being idle. I went on to ask closer friends, and they told me that they started a specific business because that is where the money is at the time. Everything comes down to knowledge and instruction on how to generate a business idea and take the necessary steps to turn it into a brand.

The concept of developing a brand rather than a business has been widely misunderstood. A business is an operational entity whose focus is to generate more income or revenue over time; a brand goes a step further by engaging with people, seeking to build a strong community of people who will recognize the business and engage with it emotionally.
In other words, someone can own a company without bothering to create a face or a brand that people can feel and touch. Layers of brand discovery patterns such as who the brand is for, and why they exist in the first place to solve its problems are all part of this activity. Branding enables businesses to go beyond the typical limits, possibilities, and opportunities. It enabled differentiation, cultures, and the formation of communities of people who believe in a product/business beyond a specific location.
We cannot exhaust the benefits of branding a business, no matter how small. When a company speaks to its customers, it creates a brand through its messaging, which is distributed through various channels and touchpoints. I had a strong desire to become the person who could help small sprouting businesses develop brands from their business ideas, as well as help larger corporations who may be heading in the wrong direction for whatever reason.

In 2017, I collaborated with my friend Poemack, who is now a business strategist, to create a campaign to educate SMEs on the importance of building stronger brands for their businesses. We went on to create brand personas and branded materials for over 12 businesses, assisting them in understanding who they are and what they should say to the people for whom they were created. We did this for businesses and conferences, including the 2019 Ghana Model United Nations Youth Conference IYDC. It amazed us as we continued to raise awareness on various platforms about how little people know about the concept of branding at unimaginable levels.

Yes, people can make money by focusing solely on business and growing their books, but our goal was to become the cornerstone/backbone of those who want to impact more communities with their visions and missions, messaging that works, and inspiring growth for a better world.

I continue to pursue this mission and drive; we have begun more projects in this regard, such as creating more events, articles, and book publications, as well as collaborating with senior industry leaders to produce results that will sustain the energy of small business owners or brand owners. The possibilities for branding the right way are virtually limitless.

Onyekachi , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Brand Identity Designer, and A brand manager, I specialized in catalyzing ideas for my clients and communicating their business ideas the right way to reach the right audience.

My core activities include creating logos, brand assets, brand strategies, photography, cinematography director for advertisements and commercials, and image compositions. etc.

I have competencies in using creative and graphic design tools, and marketing and media communication skills.
I provide brand strategies and creative direction to execute these ideas.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Clients like every other ingredient that makes a business successful are one of the most important. Services are rendered to clients, not to fellow teammates or members of staff.

Clients are the life of a business in the context of service delivery; They are experiencing job burnout and are ready for a change but don’t know where to begin, they know they want a change and have some ideas, but need clarification, focus, and direction, they probably have an important interview coming up and want to succeed, they have an idea but don’t know how to take it off the ground or have little funds to do so, polite enough to ask for help or are predators, They are entering or reentering a business market after an absence with no idea of what your complexities are and so on.

Like everyone else, we are clients to someone, I perceive the difference is in the handling of their responses and frustrations from the people we serve. So how do I foster brand loyalty with our clients be they good or bad as the case may be?

I have been able to keep in touch with my clients and win their loyalty through the quality of my work in significant ways.

Secondly, I try to be proactive, I like to be their eyes, to bring ideas to them, to help me see what their competitors are doing or about to do in the market, then I go ahead and hedge them with my services against losing out.

Thirdly, I try to learn more about their business and thought patterns, which helps me feel their pains and understand their audience better so that the creative decisions I make are not biased, but appropriate and effective.

Fourthly, I don’t stop at creating nor do my creating start by just listening to briefs. I take my time to present case studies and cite research cases where the creative solution I have worked effectively. I research and show proof, and this increases trust on the side of my clients they rest assured that I take their business seriously and I am capable of making informed decisions not based on sentiments but on history and projections. In addition to this recommending complimentary services has done me so much good. My clients see me as a safe place, not just a creative agency.

Last but not least is my ability to communicate effectively. Communication begins with you… it’s a must-have tool for anyone that is into service delivery and sales. Dealing and communicating with clients has more to do with knowledge than your emotions. I also make routine check-up calls. I tried to communicate feedback and take feedback as well. Communicating the status of projects and most importantly termination when necessary in a manner that dilutes possible conflicts or bad reviews.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I have been informed and inspired by a lot of books and resources,

Build to last by Collins and Porras.
Business Stripped bare by Richard Branson
Psychology of Seling by Brian Tracy
Small Message Big impact by Terri L. Sjodin
This is marketing by Set Godin
Business Secrets from the bible .etc

I have heard numerous podcasts on User Experiences and branding On Spotify
Business ideas and talks by Vusi Thembekwayo.
brand and design talks from Chris Do and Brand Masters Academy. Etc

Article on branding from medium and campaign.uk .
Marketing Courses on skill share.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.poeinternational.com
• Instagram: amdrpoe
• Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Kachi.Eze.kachi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onyekachi-ezenwanili-805607102/
• Twitter: @poeconceptznig
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYDsJfnKAvhDhmlIjV2TdCQ

Image Credits
I have rights over all photos provided. I took them myself