Business is about the contacts and networks that you create around your products and services as well as those for support and advice. Networking has come to the fore in recent times and is now considered to be essential for both meeting customers and suppliers and stakeholders, alike.
Plan, plan, plan
An event for networking needs to be planned well in advance, to choose a theme, decide on the aim and provide professionals who are invited sufficient time to plan and diarize the event. Many note that planning should take place at least several weeks in advance. The only time you don’t need to inform guests so early is if it is a pop-up networking event. The event itself will still need pre-planning, but the invites can then be sent out at a little later and a little wider to ensure sufficient attendance.
You also need to plan as to what the aim of the event is, who will be invited and why and what the content or process of the event will be.
The meet and greet is essential
Depending on the number of people that you invite and the target audience, ensure that your meet and greet is appropriate. Customers want to feel valued and special and upon arrival they will need to feel welcome and at ease to appreciate the event and engage with any company or product messages. There should also be a formal process of brief introductions depending on the aim of the networking event.
Promote the brand and provide promotional material, freebies and gifts
Include a brand story, whether it’s on written promotional material or posters and yes, even PowerPoint can work. Telling your audience a memorable anecdote about the product is a must for a networking event. It’s stories like these that people remember and create the backstory to the product or business. There should also be some takeaways with all contact details of the host as well as a commitment to subsequently provide the contacts of others who have attended. This can be in the form of a fun branded item that has the contact details and there are some exciting developments in this sector at the moment. Good examples are made by anthembranding.com.
Have connectors on hand
The one thing that many businesses neglect to do at a networking or marketing event is to have a few connectors in the room and at the venue. They need to have been selected very carefully, generally from members of your own company or team. They need to know the brand, have a clear idea of what the event aims to achieve and then most of all they need to be personable. Their role is to make sure that there is interaction, talking to people and introducing those who have arrived, to others already in the room.
Reflect
The end of the event is the start of your actual networking. It’s vital to then reflect on the event and determine exactly what the next steps are for sustainable networking and relationship building.
