Business Networking is by default an advantageous activity if you are committed to your networking goals.
Networking can benefit businesses in a vast array of possibilities-
It Helps Build Relationships
Building effective relationships with prospective or other select audiences that would help you in enhancing your business prospects.
Business Solutions
Business solutions specific to your requirement that you were unable to gauge and address through other services or mediums. Networking groups bring their specialty and should be able to address your specific issues with specific solutions.
Business Opportunities
Networking is a platform that brings across many opportunities, including being identified as a relevant client, associate, partner or even consultant, everything thus leading to monetary benefits.
Positively Impacted Social Life
Many business networking professionals will see this as an added or unsigned virtue of their business network, getting a positively impacted social life. It builds a state of confidence, clarity of thoughts and the ability to present what you want.
Community Support
Often small businesses or SME owners are on their own and do not have a support system when it comes to emotional, psychological; technical, and sometimes even financial wellbeing. With networking groups sporting people with an almost similar background, they tend to become an ecosystem for each other in offering support, guidance and help at varying levels.
The covid-19 pandemic was a test of time and how different networking groups acted together and stayed strong in the face of the disaster shows the power of Networking.
From getting medicines to checking hospital beds and running campaigns to gather funds, networking groups were the fastest and closely bound to empathize, support and help.
And this was all beyond business objectives.
Access to Vendors
Networking also offers you a choice of in-house business vendors who are trusted and reliable sources for your business or household needs. Vendors like lift maintenance, pest control services, counsellors, loan consultants, real estate agents, and many others can be easily and readily available.
Industry Benchmarking
The networking forums can give a set of standards for your business. Because when you are catering to a national and international set of members you need to be streamlined in your work as well as set industry benchmarks for your business to be able to serve better.
This backward integration we automatically do to streamline our business to fit the global requirements. This enhances the way the business operates and the overall ranking of the business.
Building Business Pipeline
Networking is not direct sales and might even not lead to direct sales. It is but a path to generate a tentative and prospective business opportunities pipeline that would help your business in the near future.
The Ecosystem
Networking is an ecosystem that can connect to different people and aspects of business in one chord. It is a platform that gives access to different things all at once. The support and coexistence being the way networking works, it is an ongoing work and cannot be done within a set time.
So, if you wish to generate business, gain business insights, offer consultancy, elevate your business, or come to promote your brand, Networking is a mutual relationship of give and take and fosters on the environment of mutual acceptance and efforts of the members.
Article by: Mr.Pankaj Harwansh, Executive Director, BNI Navi Mumbai
