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The Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 17 October 2024, where it took the time to celebrate and honor the outgoing board members for their exceptional leadership and contributions over the past term. This moment was a reflection of the board’s remarkable journey, characterized by innovation, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to advancing the marketing profession in Zimbabwe.
MAZ extends its heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing board members: Lillian Mbayiwa (President), Liberty Kazhanje (Vice President), Emilliah Mabika, Carol White, Caroline Tagwireyi, Lawrence Kupika, and Andrew Tawodzera. Their leadership, dedication, and teamwork have been instrumental in driving MAZ’s growth and achieving key milestones over the past years.
Under the leadership of these board members, MAZ has flourished despite the challenges posed by an unpredictable economic environment. Their unwavering commitment to the Association has resulted in key initiatives that have made a lasting impact on the marketing landscape in Zimbabwe. One of the most notable achievements is the launch of the MAZ Business Institute (MAZ BI), which houses specialized institutes such as the MAZ Institute of Digital Practitioners (MIDP), MAZ Institute of Sales Professionals (MISP), and MAZ Institute of Customer Experience Practitioners (MICXP). These initiatives have empowered members with the necessary skills and knowledge to adapt to changing industry trends and enhance their professional growth.
In addition to their focus on professional development, the outgoing board also introduced the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Policy Statement, demonstrating MAZ’s commitment to promoting ethical practices within the marketing sector. Their efforts also led to the publication of the Women in Marketing and Communications report, which highlighted the invaluable contributions of women in the industry, further strengthening the inclusive nature of the marketing profession.
Moreover, the board spearheaded the highly successful Interbrands Sports Games, a unique event designed to foster networking and camaraderie among MAZ members. This event not only showcased the importance of work-life balance but also provided a fun and engaging platform for members to connect beyond the professional sphere.
Another significant achievement was the successful collaboration with the Zambia Institute of Marketing to host the ACPD Winter School, a regional partnership that provided a platform for marketers to share knowledge and strengthen regional ties, establishing MAZ’s presence as a regional leader in the marketing community.
Looking ahead, the groundwork laid by these outgoing board members ensures that MAZ is well-positioned for continued success. In particular, the upcoming collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), beginning in 2025, promises to bring global marketing expertise and the latest trends in Big Data and Analytics to MAZ members, further expanding their competitive edge in the global marketplace.
The legacy of the outgoing board members will undoubtedly continue to inspire and guide MAZ as it enters the next phase of growth. Their hard work, passion, and leadership have been vital in shaping the direction of the Association, and for that, MAZ extends its deepest thanks.
Gillian Rusike expressed deep gratitude to the retiring board members, stating, “To Lillian Mbayiwa, Liberty Kazhanje, Emiliah Mabika, Carol White, Caroline Tagwireyi, Lawrence Kupika, and Andrew Tawodzera, we offer our sincerest gratitude. Your dedication to MAZ and the marketing profession has been truly exceptional, and your contributions have left an indelible mark on the Association’s history. We are excited about the future and confident that the foundation you have laid will continue to serve as a stepping stone toward even greater success. Thank you for your outstanding leadership.”
Whether your business is an established empire, or you were just starting to get your ideas out into the business world as a start-up organisation – the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a devastating impact on business operations worldwide. The main demise of businesses is the inability to adapt and entities that could not innovate and incorporate creative ways to sustain income have found it challenging to keep their heads above the water during this period where physical interaction with customers is limited. What is not, however, limited, is the ability to diversify business operations to include what is perhaps the only unphased aspect of life as we know it – technology.
This article explores the options that a business can adopt to do business during the lockdown period. The first and most important stage is the planning stage.
Planning during a pandemic focuses on prudent assumptions of the future position of the organisation. This entails that it is imperative to assess the future from a worst-case scenario position. The advantage of this approach versus the opposite is that it accounts for the unpredictability of the situation we find ourselves in and in general terms; overcompensating is far wiser than being underprepared. Companies routinely plan budgets, sales and marketing strategies, and operational adjustments. However, the most forward-thinking and progressive companies are also developing what are referred to as strategic technology plans.
A strategic technology plan is an assessment of a company’s current technological strengths and weaknesses. The assessment then establishes a roadmap to align technology with the way the company wants to do business. The economies of a planning exercise of this type are scaled to the size of the organisation. The bigger your business, the more value the implementation of technology planning is. However, smaller businesses will have a better change transition as far as adopting technology into their processes which makes it a suitable first step for all business sizes.
Our fourth and notable mention is TechSoup which takes a different approach to assessment by providing a series of online worksheets listing questions on specific aspects of technology.
If done correctly, technology planning can provide a foundation to fulfil your organizational mission. It will also help in the planning and procurement of funds to get the right technology for your business needs.
Effective collaboration has been compromised by the dispersion of workforces during the quarantine. In order to maintain team cohesion, the efficiency of communication must be the top priority. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the plans to implement them.
The advantage of working in offices is the ability to have oversight of all business processes and monitor the effectiveness of individual contributions to the company objective. The distribution of work and the subsequent evaluation is not possible without written and oral communication.
There are several software programs that have been developed to incorporate the administration of work processes as well as enabling business staff to coordinate projects that are critical to maintaining core operations during this lockdown period.
