There are many ways to market a business product or service. Business Networking has proved to be very effective and is an essential skill for most business people, especially entrepreneurs. People are assets; many customers will make a choice over one business or the other because of the person representing that business. This requires that a business owner develop and maintain business relationships. Here are some tools and resources to take your business to the next level using networking.

Find the Best Network Group(s) for You

It’s best to visit as many business networking groups as possible. There are usually a lot of options out there. Take note of which ones spark your interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Is there quality leadership? Do the people seem supportive of one another? Some groups are free and many will allow you to visit multiple times before joining. I recommend that you join as many network groups as is feasible for you and your business. Choose the ones in which you have the most to offer as well as receive.

In my experience I’ve found that one networking groups stands above the rest, CEO Space. They have a cooperative networking model. You’ll find that most members are genuinely interested in your success and doing what they can to help you find what you are looking for. CEO Space specializes in income acceleration, entrepreneurial training, and super networking to grow businesses exponentially. As a member you will be taught Free Enterprise Skills not taught in conventional educational programs.

More info: www.ceospaceutah.net

What You Give Will Come Back to You

Business networking isn’t all about what you can get, it’s actually about what you can give. The more you open yourself up to giving and assisting others, the more you are making yourself available to receive. Also, it’s about quality not quantity. When you are giving information and referrals keep in mind that you sincerely want the person to succeed and give with such a mindset.

Have you belonged to networking groups in which you felt you weren’t getting enough leads? Perhaps it’s because you haven’t been giving enough? Or perhaps people you haven’t been there long enough or created enough relationships with people to make them comfortable to give you leads. Give it a try: forget yourself and focus on creating success for others then watch the same happen for you.

Follow Up

How much business have you potentially missed out on because you didn’t follow up? If you receive a referral from someone be sure to follow up with that contact, you may be missing out on a great opportunity. Also, whenever you give a referral to someone else follow up with them. Find out if they were able to get a hold of the person and what the result of the referral was. You might even want to keep a written record of the referrals you given and received. A great strategy when giving a referral is to call up the person you are referring right away and hand your phone to your business associate. Get them connected right away for better results!

Set Goals

Before going to your networking meetings set some goals. Are you there for clients? knowledge? or an other reason? Decide what it is you are looking for and ask for that specifically. What do you want to accomplish? Make a list of intentions and as you fulfill each one add more items to the list. Remember to also help others accomplish their goals.

Business Cards

Don’t forget your business cards, how else will people follow up with you? Put enough information on your card so that people will have multiple ways to contact you (i.e. work phone, cell, email, address, IM, etc.), you never know what each persons preferred method of communication is. Be generous in giving out your business cards. Give cards out to everyone, including family and friends. Give out multiple cards to some people; they may end up referring your services.

Create a business card that stands out. What is it that makes you different from everyone else? Why should people choose you? Be sure to make that statement on your business card. Putting your picture on your business card will help people connect a person to the business. Insert your card in all mailings and find every opportunity you can to give them out. You never know what opportunities you might be missing out on by not giving out enough business cards. Your business card is one of the most simple and effective marketing tools.

The following tips come from smallbusinessbranding.com. If you like this information you may want to visit their website for more tips. If you want to implement some of these tips on your website, or create a new website with these tips in mind, contact Weblife to get started today.

Think branding is only for large multi-national corporations? Think again. Here are 9 easy tips you can use to grow your brand with your customers.

1. The design of your logo really doesn’t matter. Would you choose MSN as your search engine over Google because of their logo? No, having a nice professional logo is great, but it very rarely increases sales. I’m all for a professional logo, but don’t think you need to spend a fortune on it. It’s more important to include your logo on every piece of communication. Put it on business cards, letterhead, envelopes, invoices, yellow page ads, building signage, newsletters, etc.

2. Have a professional website. It’s not just good enough to just have a website, you must reflect your brand image. If your known as a top notch photographer, the last thing you want is a website designed 10 years ago. It doesn’t reflect well on you. Everyone, yes everyone, uses the web today to check references. If someone recommends your service, you can almost guarantee that they will go online to look for you. Your website design should be updated at least every two years to stay current.

3. Blogs are good. Blogs help your business on multiple levels. First off, valuable content on a consistent basis will make you look like an expert. People are looking for experts, not apprentices. The software that powers blogs has multiple advantages. It’s very easy to publish. It’s a database driven environment where style is separate from content so you will not need to go back to your web design agency for every little change. And use of tags and sitemaps make basic search engine optimization easy. But the real reason blogs are great is that they enable conversation. Two-way dialog is much more valuable than a company that just dumps messaging and collateral on their customers.

4. Blogs are good, but they’re just one tool. A blog should not be your sole marketing strategy. You should have a comprehensive multi-touch marketing plan to get your value proposition in front of your target audience. This can take many forms. You can launch a direct mail campaign, email campaign, host a webinar, sponsor a local event, attend a trade show, attend networking events, cold call prospects, win awards, etc… There are a thousand different ways for you to be noticed. You have to find the best combination of methods for your strategic goals. Data shows that people need to be exposed to a brand at least seven times before they buy. If you simply do one touch and stop, you’re wasting valuable budget dollars and probably wondering why your efforts are not successful.

5. Prepare a one page corporate overview. This one pager will be vital as a leave behind when you meet a prospect. Use short sentences in short paragraphs – people like to read quickly. Also make it very conversational; it’s not a white paper. Your one page overview should include your value proposition, target audience benefits, previous audience experience and a mini-case study – and don’t forget your contact information.

6. Participate in local business events. And by participate, I mean be on a committee. Just showing up at events is great, but you’re just a face in the crowd. Ask to be on one of the committees. Believe it or not, it’s as simple as just asking most of time. Groups are looking for volunteer help and it’s a great way to elevate your status and visibility among the entire organization.

7. Do what you say you’re going to do. I know it may sound like common sense, but one of the primary drivers of brand loyalty is a consistent experience. If you say you’re going to have the photographs ready on a set day, be sure they are ready. Nothing leaves a bad taste in someone’s mouth like missed expectations. Positive experiences lead to good feelings which lead to telling their friends. But don’t forget that bad experiences spread much faster and are harder to overcome – if you get a chance at all.

8. Stand for something. People latch on to something they can understand and appreciate. If you’re trying to be everything to everybody, chances are you’ll attract no one. If you think it’s too controversial to choose a niche, remember the power of being seen as an expert. Experts are not good at everything, they’re awesome at one thing. This allows you to better position yourself and charge more for your services. People seek out experts, not generalists.

9. Realize that you’re not in control of your brand. That’s right, you only set the direction for your brand. Your actual brand image is determined by your audience. You can use these tips to ensure alignment between your desired brand image and your actual brand image in the minds of your customers. Branding isn’t a one shot deal, it’s an on-going juggling act of marketing, research and conversation. If you’re not tapping into those conversations with your audience, how do you know what their real impression of you is? How will you know how to address it? Brand growth comes from alignment. You have to ensure that your actions, stationary, website and marketing efforts put out the right image. But you cannot stop there; Those are pre-sales activities that get you noticed and hopefully bought. You also have to ensure that all actions and engagements during the sale and post-sale are positive and in line with your desired brand image. If your audience has a different view of you than you’d like, then you need help. And it’s probably best to bring in an outside perspective.

10. BONUS TIP #10: Branding is as much about your people as anything else. Never forget that the best interactions come from one-on-one conversations between executives, employees, suppliers, and customers. Employees that want to help and do the best job possible go a long way.

Proper branding is critical to your long term success. A lot of people think of branding as logo development. But in reality, branding is managing the thoughts and feelings of your customers to ensure that you are what they desire. If your desired brand image isn’t what’s in the minds of your target audience, you’ve got to figure out where the gaps are and how to address them. And fixing those issues is hard work because the old adage still rings true – the customer is always right.