Question

Why is networking an important topic for a business in terms of a strategic objective?

Answer 1

Answer:-

Business networking is leveraging your business and personal connections to bring you a regular supply of new business.

The concept sounds simple, doesn't it? Don't let that fool you, though. Because it involves relationship building, it can be a deceptively complex process.

Think about it. How many people do you know?

How many of these people truly understand what you do?

How many of these folks have directed prospects to you as referrals?

And how many of those referrals have actually turned into business?

Lets Understand all above questions:-

Business networking is much more than showing up at networking functions, shaking a
lot of hands and collecting a bunch of cards.

For example, imagine two people attending an event, sizing it up and drawing an imaginary line down the middle. They separate, each taking half the room. At the end of the event, they meet again to see who's collected the most business cards.

Have you met these people? Sure you have. We all have. What did they accomplish? They collected a lot of cards that will end up on a shelf, in a drawer, in the trash, or--worse yet--scanned into a computer so they can spam everyone they just met. Why? What does a business card represent? It's a piece of paper, with ink and images on it. No relationship has been formed.

This networking strategy, by itself, isn't an effective use of time, money or energy.

Networking your business means you have to be proactive. The core of networking is doing something specific each week that is focused on networking for business growth. Make a plan, focus and be consistent. When you understand exactly what business networking is and step up to the challenge, you'll find avenues of opportunity that you may have otherwise never discovered, and you will be making an invaluable investment in the steady growth of your business.

Networking can help you generate new sales leads, deepen connections with existing contacts and learn useful information about your markets. So why do so many businesses do it in such an ad-hoc way? Heather White of Smarter Networking explains how strategic networking could give you an edge over the competition.

Most of Business have some sort of marketing or business plan, but less than 20% have a networking strategy.

Yet ask them how much of their business comes from referrals, word-of-mouth recommendation and direct networking and you will find that more than 80% typically comes from these sources.

So, if you don't have a large marketing budget and much of your business comes from these sources, you need a networking strategy.