NPP 2024: Before You Produce, Know Your Market

Dear Kweku the Delegate,

I wish to continue to share with you what I believe is the most important thing to consider when you are about to decide which product to sell to Ama Ghana Market in the 2024 election.

As I have always intimated to you, what is the wisdom in producing something you consider to be good for a market that has no taste for it? It would only amount to waste of resources and power. It is not for nothing that profit-thirsty producers always conduct extensive market analysis before they begin production.

Every prudent producer would always want to know the nature and dynamics of a market before he or she decides what, how and when to produce in that market. That is exactly what we also have to do. Let no one deceive you that whatever we sell, the people in the market would buy. You don’t produce raincoat during dry season.

From every indication, the market is going to be very competitive like never before in 2024. Our main competitor’s product, which was rejected by the market in 2016 and 2020 is now being rebranded for 2024 and, due to certain current happenings in the market, the product seems to be getting some traction.

Therefore, let’s get our decisions right, based on prudent objective political market analysis, so that we can produce a more marketable product that would overshadow theirs.

Kweku, the fact is that the marketability of a product is not a function of the producer’s preference; it is a function of the market’s preference. For example, selling pork in a market dominated by Germans would be highly profitable. However selling the same pork in a Jewish-dominated market would completely collapse the business.

What would the people in the market easily and quickly buy, should always be the first question to ask before production decision is made. You don’t produce what you like and then force it on the market. No! It doesn’t work like that.

A typical example is what happened in the Akwatia Constituency in the 2020 parliamentary election. The party preferred a certain young man for obvious reasons, but the Akwatia political market preferred Ama Sey, despite her “bugabuga English”.

In the end, the party bigwigs had their way, but the market rejected their product. That is how we sadly lost the Akwatia seat to the NDC. Market indeed determines what to produce.

Kweku, let me conclude by drawing your attention to the reality and unique characteristics of our political market once again, so that you can see for yourself which of our two products (product A and product B), would give us quick and easy sale and expected profit (POWER) when sold in such market.

The market is 50.7% women, 71.2% Christians, 47.5% Akans and, quite significantly, youth-dominated. Lest I forget Kweku, there is something else you need to know about the market. People don’t like saying it, but my okro-mouth would make me say it. Hmmm, a lot of people in the market are disappointed, disgruntled and downhearted due to certain recent happenings.

Until you receive my next epistle, kindly reflect deeply on the marketability issue and let that inform your decision rather than financial inducement. Remember political power is more expensive than all the financial inducement put together. So, be more power-conscious than money-conscious when it comes to presidential primary. Stay blessed!

Yourself sincerely,

E. G. Buckman