Are networking events worth their while?
Is London not considered the best city for networking? There is such a wide variety of networking events for all industries. All you need to do is research online where and when the next event is and get ready to do your stuff.
1. Find the right event
You don’t necessarily need to search for events in your industry but events relating to your industry or those where you think you might be able to find new clients or partners are always useful. For example, if you own an IT company you could also benefit from attending an event about administration or advertising. All in all, you could plan your strategy for the event by pointing out how your products or services will improve the general administration or advertising of the company.
2. Design a networking strategy
“If you don’t have a large marketing budget and your source of business comes from people you know, you need a networking strategy”, claims Heather White, networking architect (1). In fact, a big percentage of clients in small businesses are referred by other clients. A survey conducted by Verizon, in conjunction with Small Business Trends, about Philadelphia’s small businesses concluded that 85% of the companies looked at confirmed they got their clients through word-of-mouth (2).
Hence the relevance of designing an effective networking strategy where you map out:
- your company’s complementary industries
- events where you think you might find potential clients
- how you’ll approach those potential clients when attending events, so how to start the conversation and how to build your business
- follow-up on every event and maintain an active network of contacts
3. Promote referrals
Some companies choose to give discounts on their services or products to clients who in bring more clients (3). It is certainly a good strategy if your company has a good pool of clients that will easily recommend your services. An incentive, like getting discounts for your service or product is a great way to get people talking about your company.
Alternatively there is always the option to create a competition for users.
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