How do you market your Business?
As a self proclaimed Networking addict I often get asked why I devote so much of my time to it. First of all it’s worth noting that this is by no means the only way that I market my business but one piece of the jigsaw that you need to have in your arsenal to build a successful business. We spend a lot of time and effort in getting the message that we deliver to our customer’s right and communicated in the right medium for that particular client and only one element of this is Face to Face Networking. I am often asked how I find the time to do this; firstly the most effective networking is done out of office hours.
A lot of my Networking is done over Breakfast or Dinner. There is a plethora of networking groups across the country and each of which cater for a different type of business and different types of individual. Some are very structured and target based while at the other end of the spectrum some are more of a social gathering. What all of these have in common is a group of Business People who are passionate about their business but who also understand that if you rely on your customers coming to you then you are missing a lot of great opportunities.
With the uptake of Social Networking the art of meeting potential customers face to face is as important as ever, each business has its own way of showing its product to the market. If you just rely on social media then you are again limiting your market.
So down to the nitty gritty; is it worth the time you will have to invest in it?
To date most of the business I have written has not been down to phone bashing but instead building relationships with clients over a period of time, building trust and being seen as a trusted business contact. This has been nurtured over several years but now I have a successful business built on solid business referrals with clients who trust me and want to do business with me. This means a that my customers do not put me in a pot with three other suppliers to see who gives them the best price but value my advice and trust me to do the right thing by them for a reasonable cost.
Face to face networking is a powerful tool to have as part of your Networking Mix and should not be overlooked as something that takes too long. You need to commit to building this part of your business over several years but the end result stronger customer loyalty, improved margins and a feeling that you are doing business with people that I view as friends and not just customers.
Jim
