When you own a business, it's important to never pass up an opportunity which can help that business to grow. There are several ways in which you can achieve this. Marketing is certainly one, although no one is quite sure how effective some aspect of marketing really are. Although hundreds of studies can be commissioned on advertising, for example, none have resulted in a ringing endorsement on the positive effects of advertising for a company. In fact, some studies suggest that word of mouth may be more effective in selling a product under a Canadian trademark than television or print advertising have ever been.
Those facts aside, another thing to keep in mind when it comes to advertising is that it can be quite expensive. Media spots run in the hundreds to thousands of dollars range; even Internet advertising is a lot pricier than it used to be. And again, there is the problem of efficiency. If you are trying to sell a new kind of sheet metal brake, you don't need everyone to see it, just the people likely to buy.
Enter the concept of networking. Networking is a business concept that has been around for as long as business has, and maybe even longer. It has received more recognition over the last decade as more and more people move into the business world, but it has always been the most effective and popular way to get word of your new strainers or other products out into the rest of the world.
When thinking of networking, think of a web, with you in the middle. Then think of the people around you with whom you talk about your business. They may be other business owners, people who you helped install Peterborough decks with, your family and friends. You network by letting people know about your business. This is usually done through word of mouth, which probably includes an exchange of business cards.
Actually, we'll take out the probably and replace it with must. Without a business card, people will not know how to contact you should what you do or sell come up with another person in the web, the next step in networking. Your immediate contacts are meant to pass this word on to other people in their circle, expanding the web further. A rep for a Huntsville Ontario catering company, for example, may give a business card or ten to a friend from church. When that friend hears another friend mention they are looking for a caterer for their New Year's Eve party, one of those business cards is passed along. Hopefully, the rep from the company gets a call and land the job. Now, that person has turned from a contact through a friend to a direct contact and a paying client, which means you can expand your network even further.
Good networking is like a snowball running down a hill. Once it gets started, it doesn't stop, and accumulates more and more contacts for your business as it moves forward.
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