Marketing Focus – The Importance of Networking
Networking is one of your key Costa del Sol marketing tools, and when starting or running a business here, it’s highly recommended to take advantage of the opportunities networking has to offer. The main benefits of networking are:
• Raise awareness of you and your company
• Allows you access to experienced business people to ask advice and get practical support if you’re new to the area
• Builds a network of trusted suppliers who you can turn to
• Builds trust in you and therefore your business
• Gives you marketing opportunities to give speeches, publicise your business via their website or newsletters and of course meet new people at each and every meeting
• Is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and build your social network in a new place
Building trust is probably one of the most important benefits of networking. I was amazed when I first arrived here that everyone was in a rush to tell me not to trust anyone, be careful, get money up front and generally be suspicious if anyone was too nice or their business sounded too good to be true.
The lack of trust is an important factor that makes the Costa del Sol a completely different place to do business. I tell my clients that when they launch a business here, they aren’t starting at 0 as they might be in the UK, but actually at -20!
Rather than simply raise awareness of what you do, you must first convince people that you do what you say you will, that you are not a cowboy who will disappear into the night with their money and that you’re here to stay. Networking is the best tool I know for overcoming this massive barrier and so crucial to doing business on the Costa del Sol.
Now you know the importance of networking on the Costa del Sol, here is a list of Networking Dos and Don’ts to make sure we’re all doing the right things to maximise the potential of networking.
Dos
- Be brave and go and say hello to the people around you
- Bring plenty of cards and marketing materials
- Think of a concise and accurate business description so when people ask you what you do you have an answer
- Listen to others and take the time to learn about their business
- Offer help to members for free or at a very low cost
- Take advantage of all the extra promotional opportunities the networking group offers like website etc.
- Be patient – networking takes time because it’s all about building positive and long-standing relationships
- Be too shy to speak to people
- Just speak to the people you know
- Sell and push your business down people’s throats
- Get stuck talking to just one person the whole time, you’re here to meet lots of people and everyone understands that
- Be rude and constantly be looking around for someone better to talk to!
- Be critical of other members – it makes you look bad
- Forget to follow-up after the meeting – this is one of the most important elements
- Business 1st
- BNI Spain
- British Chamber of Commerce
- Women in Business
- Marbella Business Institute
- Tweet-up
- Ola Networking
- Costa Women
If you know of any other good business networking groups on the Costa de Sol, let us know. All you need to get started with networking is a business card and website, so if you need any help obtaining those don’t hesitate to get in touch! Email info@shawmarketingservices.com for more information.