A small business needs marketing spark. The cost-effective way to breathe in new ideas and get inspiration is by getting away from the computer and out there meeting people. The best way of doing this is by doing face to face networking rather than closing sales deals.
What’s so good about networking for a small business?
You hear new ideas which could be your perfect next step
You hear what you have heard before but with the opportunity for it to mean something different this time
You can have a lot of conversations which could be the start of the perfect business relationship
You re-connect with people you know already.
Although it is important to follow up (Duh!), that’s not the essential after-networking activity.
The most important follow up is with your marketing ideas – your marketing spark.
The chances are that while you were away from your desk you had an enormous number of great ideas. The trouble is that it can be easy to forget them when you get back to daily activity.
If you have not been able to write down your ideas they could be lost for ever. We may record notes from a business meeting with a client but forget to do this when the meetings are more coincidental.
My suggestion is to
(This is very different from looking at the cards to give yourself something to do, like process them follow them up)
You are not giving yourself a To Do list or contributing to data overload, but gently exploring all the associations and ideas. Write them down.
I have just been on a mammoth networking and one-to-one experience lasting over a day and a half. By going through this process I managed to capture many of the ideas I had at the time. In fact I usually get my best ideas while travelling which is probably because my subconscious is processing what I have taken in.
This way of looking back helps to reconnect with those ideas that create the spark that will be the inspiration for your business in the future.
Absolutely. And it is often more powerful than having a “strategy meeting” or a formal procedure. Glad you agree.
Good insights. Networking often gives you that elusive time for thinking, reflecting and working on rather than in the business.