With Florida preparing to slowly open businesses back up to the public, many employers are looking around at their now sparse staff and wondering how they're going to start up again. A quick hire without forethought can be bad news for your business, but we also know you're in a pinch to fill spaces quickly! The same is true for those who are now unemployed due to the recent shutdown and face the uphill climb of finding a new job. Blindly going through the motions of trying to find the right fit can be time consuming, stressful, and disappointing. Much like “cold calling” for salesmen, attempting to find employees (or find a job) without some prior connections will typically more time and more effort. Working within circles you’ve already created can make the process much more efficient. The problem, however, lies within creating those circles in the first place. It can be hard to know how to make connection with other business owners, professionals in your area, and/or potential employees at this time, even as the re-opening process begins. Networking is the answer to making needed connections, and while it might look different for a while, there are still plenty of opportunities for you to make the connections you’re searching for!

Chamber Meetings

Your local Chamber of Commerce is a great place to start when seeking out networking opportunities. Oftentimes in the past Chambers would host periodic meetings or gatherings where business owners (and sometimes employees) could socialize with one another and get to know others within the community. This was when you would strike up conversations (and hopefully relationships) with other members of the Chamber in your town and use those connections for your benefit later on. While in-person meetings aren't happening yet with the current restrictions, many local Chambers are still participating in online meetings and chats via virtual platforms, and if you can get in touch by email or phone, you can probably request an "invite" to one of these virtual events. This will not only be the first step in getting to know those in your local chamber, but will also let you see how things are run within the organization and can give you perspective that will be valuable if and when in-person gatherings begin again.

Community Involvement

Unlike the Chamber meetings, community events were often open to the public, making them a great place to find both other business owners, and potential employees. Local events were usually where vendors, business owners, and local professionals could mingle and lots of networking connections were made in this way. While those events won't happen for a while, there ARE ways to get involved in your community and make some of those same higher-level connections with professionals in your town. Look for opportunities to participate in something for the greater good of other residents in your city or neighborhood. Volunteer opportunities to help with those who are homebound, sponsoring students or organizations who are doing great things for our area during the COVID crisis, and even participating in community virtual events and chat forums can be easy ways to get your foot in the door with people who could help you fill openings in your staff, or help you find a job if you're seeking employment.

Conferences and Training

In person conferences and work retreats are on hold for a while longer, but there are lots of training opportunities (paid and for free) online right now. By attempting to better yourself, you just might end up networking with some important connections at the same time! Both business owners and potential employees attend these types of trainings, and you never know who could be exactly the link you needed!

Seeing local businesses thrive and grow is what Newton Peach Marketing is all about, and right now we want to make sure you feel supported as a small business owner. If you have questions about making sure your business is seen by the audience who needs your services most, or boosting your numbers online, call us for a free consultation and quote.

If you've followed Newton Peach Marketing for any period of time, know how much we value a referral system, and how we are big supporters of networking when it comes to building businesses of all sizes. When new business owners (or even longtime business owners for that matter) hear the terms "referral" or "networking" though, they could be confused by exactly what those words mean, and how they play into growing a client base and seeing their profits increase. It's important to know that knowing the meaning of the terms matters for sure, but knowing how to implement them in your own business matters just as much, and will be key in seeing maximum growth.

When we mention referrals, we don't just mean a positive review from a previous customer. A referral can be a customer, but it could also be a friend, a fellow business owner, or someone you've met through a specific referral program. Regardless of what your connection with the individual might be, what's important to note is how they help your business through a referral. While a simple Google review is helpful, and will help you build a reputation, a true referral is when an individual specifically connects you with a "hot" lead for a new customer or client. This essentially means they contact the lead and mention your name, give them your contact information (this could be a phone number, Email address, website, or even your business card), and encourage them to utilize your product or service. By using their personal relationship with the person they increase your chances exponentially over a simple cold call. We all know how important word of mouth is when it comes to business, whether finding the best place in town to get a good burger, to the best plumber for a leaking pipe. Referrals are really an "organized" word of mouth process. They help you get the word out about your product or service in a personalized way, and that can be huge in growing your business locally and beyond.

A network is also key in growing your business, and is essentially made up of referrals at its heart, although it goes beyond this. A network, in this context, is a group of people you can count on for continued referrals. This could be something you've just built on your own, or through a club or organized group of business owners, but regardless it's meant to grow on itself and lead to increased referrals over time. Picture it like a tree. You start with a single referral (the "seed" if you will) and that grows into a client for you. That client then refers you to three of their friends and/or fellow business owners (your first branches), which eventually turn into steady customers, and then refer you to several of their friends. Over time, that initial referral and new client turn into countless referrals and/or customers, and that can lead to explosive business growth if it takes off. This is why many business owners invest in clubs or organizations that are based on building networks. Newton Peach Marketing is proud to be part of our local BNI chapter here in Winter Haven. BNI has over 9,000 chapters around the world, and while they are a wonderful option for many businesses, there are plenty of smaller, localized options as well, including your own local Chamber of Commerce.

Regardless of how you choose to go about growing your business with referrals and networking opportunities, we hope you'll look into somehow incorporating the above techniques into your plan for the coming year. We've seen so many clients experience the excitement of growth by simply building a group of referral contacts. We've also seen business owners grow in big ways by taking time to invest in their business and intentionally work on building their brand and getting their name out in the community. Newton Peach Marketing specializes in customizing digital marketing plans for businesses of all sizes, and we tailor everything to your needs, your budget, and what YOU want for your business. How can we help you and become part of your network? Give us a call for more information or to schedule a consultation.