Hi,

I hope I chose the right topic for this question, if not I would be grateful for directions =) This is my first post so I hope I am in line with the forum rules.

As a background I need to mention that I represent a company in Europe that has taken a decision to try to expand on the South African market.

I have a few areas where I better need to understand the ”best practice” for the SA market and I would be grateful for any types of input:

Payments

What is the most common way to charge for subscription(b2b) services? (example: 12 month contract: Yearly, monthly, quarterly. In advance or not?)

If b2b is the target. What is the preferable method of payment?

2. Renewals

Let’s say a client(b2b) signs up for 12 months. After 12 months is it normal to renew for another 12 months or is it consider good business practise to move clients to a 3 month contract?

3. Contracts

For low-cost subscriptions is a written contract necessary between the provider and client(b2b), or would digitally approved terms of service suffice?

4. Marketing

Apart from Google. Is there any other type of digital driven marketing channels that would be good to explore? How’s the view on direkt marketing as an example?

5. Partners

Any tips here would be welcome. Is it preferable to aim for the trusted partner model (in my world that is when the partner owns the business engagement and the client) or is it better to hunt for affiliate partners.


As stated above, any tips or info would be great.

Thank you!