Tuesday 1 October 2013

Is there a place for face-to-face networking in the new world of inbound marketing?

Over the last 10 years, the shape of marketing has changed dramatically from interruption-based outbound marketing (advertising, telemarketing, direct mail, print advertising and trade shows) to inbound marketing (Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube and the blogosphere). Consumers have become more discerning and better at blocking interruptions. People shop and learn in a whole new way today, easily comparing offers on Google, industry-specific blogs and social media. Indeed if you do a search for ‘networking’ on Google, hundreds of pages on social networking will appear with few references to face-to-face networking?

Social networking is a phenomenon. You can target specific markets without leaving your office and entice new followers with the right social media strategy. More and more companies are opting to advertise using You Tube rather than TV advertising at a fraction of the cost and businesses worldwide are connecting on a scale that could never have been achieved with outbound marketing. So is face-to-face networking a thing of the past? There is so much focus on the building social media connections that the power of face-to-face networking has been temporarily overlooked. However, even when working with social media, the relationship needs to become face-to-face at some point in order for any meaningful business to be done.

In the New York Times, Sherry Turkle, a professor at M.I.T., wrote “we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.” In other words, many people now find it much easier and more convenient to message, e-mail, and friend others online than to take the time to truly get to know someone in person. The result may be that we have more connections, but the typical relationship is shallower”. While social media has become a global phenomenon, it is just as unwise to forget about the necessity of building strong, face-to-face relationships because it’s the people who know you the best and trust you the most who can wind up helping you the most. No matter how well the latest tech tools allow us to stay in touch, face-to-face meetings are still very important in the workplace.

A warm handshake, engaging conversation and getting to know customers and prospects on an individual level can play an important role in forming stronger, more meaningful and profitable business relationships. Face-to-face discussions are the foundation of human communication; once established, it allows us to build trust, clearly articulate our ideas and minimize misunderstanding.

Face-to-face communication has several advantages over other forms of communication. We are better able to control the situation we’re in when speaking to the person in front of us. Face-to-face communication is more precise than non-verbal cues. Only by meeting someone in the flesh can you make eye contact, smile and see their facial expressions. More importantly, face-to-face contact helps to build trust. After all, businesses are built on relationships. As the relationship grows and develops, so does the business. Often, written communication cannot fully capture the true tone and meaning intended by the sender.

Whether you’re well established, or starting out; whether your business is expanding or you’re looking for something new; face-to-face networking is a fantastic way to meet contacts, share information, exchange ideas, refer, recommend and learn from others.

Once you have put a face and a personality to your business, you can incorporate face-to-face networking with social networking and integrate it into an effective networking strategy. Combining the two will bring you the most reward. Whether you decide to attend a local Tweetup to meet some of your local Twitter followers or you choose to attend one of the many networking groups, both forms of networking are important. Face-to-face networking is vital to put a face and a personality to a business and to establish yourself with other businesses, social media will enable you to continue networking and marketing.

Own a business in or near Sutton Coldfield? Why not try The Business Growth Network Mastermind Group, meeting every 2nd Wednesday of the month at the sensible time of 9.30am-11.30am Visit this website to find out more and book your place www.angelsinbusiness.co.uk/#GrowthNetwork

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