The Importance of Networking for Your Small Business
Even though it can be stressful, you should never underestimate the importance of networking for your small business. After all, you might have heard the expression “All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust.” Even in the era of social media—when every business has a platform to promote themselves to thousands of followers every day—there’s nothing that replaces the effectiveness of good, old-fashioned in-person networking.
Even as a company that specializes in digital marketing, we recognize the value of networking, and we encourage our customers to be active participants. Additionally, we strive to help them make those connections with other businesses within our own network because we know it will help them grow their business.
In its simplest terms, the more people you know, the more people are aware of your brand. But it’s not enough to simply be aware of a brand. Remember, people are doing business with brands they know, like, and trust. To have face-to-face interaction with other businesspeople in a productive setting on a consistent basis can ensure they have much more than a simple awareness of your brand.
Get Started In Networking Your Small Business
You should approach any networking opportunity with a clear goal.
What do you want to get from your network? In some cases, this might be business leads. You want to connect with businesses or individuals whom you can convert into customers. But a network is just as good for referrals—maybe your new connection isn’t your ideal customer (that is, they don’t have a need for what you do), but as soon as they meet someone who does have that need, they can push them your way.
Don’t forget that networking is also great for fresh ideas. You might meet another business owner who has implemented creative or resourceful procedures within their operations that would be just as useful for you.
Networking opportunities exist for your specific niche.
If you feel overwhelmed (or maybe underwhelmed) by going to networking mixers with a varied crowd, you might feel more comfortable sticking to opportunities that cater to your industry. While it’s great to have a strong network of all kinds of business people, sometimes sticking to your niche could be less intimidating and more effective.
These niche networks are especially great for learning about changes in your industry or best practices that more and more businesses are implementing. While you can glean some of this information from the news or industry publications, it’s much better to gain insight from people who are living it day to day the way that you are.
Networking improves your self-confidence and your vision.
Before you step into your next networking mixer, take a moment to rehearse your elevator pitch. When people ask you what you do, you’ll have a 30-second explanation of what sets your brand apart. The more you work at improving your elevator pitch, the more you are recommitting yourself to your brand’s uniqueness and its core values.
Furthermore, being prepared means that you are more comfortable and more likely to step outside your comfort zone. As you start to interact with more and more people, confidently explaining your business with each new interaction, you’ll find that you develop a better sense of self-assuredness.
Sure, everyone knows that having a strong business vision and a strong sense of self-confidence is important to success. But if we’re focused on getting people to know, like, and trust you, it’s important that you understand you first have to know, like, and trust yourself. Once you are able to do that, others within your network will follow. The more practice you have at presenting yourself and pitching your business, the easier it becomes.
Networking depends on consistency.
If networking is going to work for you, it requires some follow-up and stick-to-itiveness. People aren’t going to know, like, and trust you after one brief encounter (unless you’re just really likeable and really trustworthy—and even if you are, you shouldn’t rest on that).
When you finish up with a networking mixer, go through the business cards you collected and send follow-up emails to let people know how much you enjoyed meeting them. Connect with them on LinkedIn or other appropriate social media platforms. And the next time you see them at a networking mixer, be sure you re-introduce yourself and engage them in a conversation built around some specific points you talked about last time.
Finally, remember that you should seek out networking opportunities on a regular basis and attend them as frequently as your schedule allows. Like learning a new skill, you will lose your progress if you network only once every so often. But if it’s something you are doing frequently, not only do your communication skills improve but you become more recognizable to those you interact with.