Youthful Ainomugisha uses ICT, creativity to boost alcohol sales

Fresh from university, Ven Jones Ainomugisha, a graduate of Accounting from Makerere University Business School in Kampala was among the 119 young sales persons that beer company, Uganda Breweries Limited recruited to bolster its sales and marketing department.

These were to push its Tusker Malt and Bell Larger brands further and to this end, he was sent to Mbarara, before he was later transferred to Ibanda as the spirits sales representative in the district, all in the Western part of the country.

Fast forward, the youthful Ainomugisha has been able to push sales in his area to the surprise of his bosses, using ICT.

He narrates that when he was recruited, he thought outside the box.

“I set up a website from which I get orders from all parts of the country. When someone makes an order from the website, the request is directly sent to my WhatsApp number in form of a message,” Ainomugisha, 29 says.

He says that this way, he also gets feedback from customers about particular beer brands that they would have bought.

“Whereas at first people were only ordering for the common beer brands, many have now come to terms that they can order for any beer brand manufactured by UBL and I deliver it.  I have been able through the website to introduce new brands which were not being sold in the area,” he says.

He adds that orders don’t only come from Ibanda but all across the country.

 “What happens is Uganda Breweries has representatives in major towns across the country. So, for me in Ibanda, when you order in Ibanda, I deliver but for someone outside Ibanda, for example in Masaka, I call the salesperson in Masaka and then that person delivers on my behalf, but it is their sale. It means that the website is not only helping me as the sales person of Ibanda to deliver my numbers but it is also helping people out there because people in Kampala call me. So, I direct the person in Kampala to deliver to those people in the shortest time possible,” Ainomugisha expounds.

Explaining his idea, operating under the name, Ibanda guy 256, Ainomugisha says the website has helped him shape sales for beer, adding that whereas the website is his, he didn’t want it to have his own name.

“I wanted to place the name in the hands of people. There are people out there known as the Ibanda Guy. Each time a person is putting on the Ibanda guy 256 shirt, they are reached out to. So, those people may not know me as an individual but they know the brand. When you put a particular brand in the hands of the people, they will like associating with the brand. Those same people will help you promote the brand, which they have done,” he says.

Anomugisha however says he has been able to use ICT to drive sales because he has passion for what he is doing.

 “I am really passionate about what I do. I feel working for UBL is the best thing that has ever come to my life. I feel attached to all UBL products and this pushes me to work hard,” he adds

 Creativity

Ainomugisha says he is not only banking on technology but a mixture of technology, innovation and creativity.

For example, in the run up to this year’s Valentine’s Day, out of his own cost, he branded packaging bags for deliveries.

“That particular idea was for Valentine’s Day. I footed bills for packing bags branded on Valentine’s theme color (Red) for the day’s deliveries. It was a valentines special for lovers out there,” he says.  

 Outdoor bar

Ainomugisha insists that creativity has also been key in his work, adding that in 2019, he thought of an outdoor bar.

Explaining the outdoor bar idea, he says after deliveries, people do not know how to serve or host a good house party.

He says he started doing this and it is for free.

“After delivering, someone would tell you, first wait for the event to get done so I can pay you the money. So, you see the kind of service they are offering to people is not good. So, I try to hype how to serve these people myself at no cost. That’s where the mobile bar comes in. It can be a house party or a birthday party. I bring the full bar set-up to your venue, your compound, for example,” he explains.

Using the outdoor bar set-up, he recruits clients for a particular product.

“What happens is, it is very easy to recruit a new consumer for a particular product using one of its cocktails rather than using a direct product. Someone will say, I don’t take Waragi but when you give them a cocktail, they are going to take it. At the end of the day, you tell them it is a Uganda Waragi Cocktail. In the long run, this person will soon shift to the concentrated drink. So, it is very easy to win a new consumer using a cocktail than using that direct product because some cocktails are hard,” Ainomugisha notes.

To Ainomugisha, the outdoor bar idea has picked up, adding that he is currently booked ahead of schedule.  

He says that his story has been one of using ICT and being creative to ensure he increases sales for the company.