Press Release Summary: Half of all UK businesses fail within the first three years according to Business Link. With start-ups facing only a 50% chance of success, business networking has become vital to their survival.
Press Release Body: Businesses can fail for a variety of reasons, from lack of finances to poor management. One of the biggest underlying causes though is a failure to generate awareness. The obvious culprit is weak or insufficient marketing, but the situation is more complex than that. Particularly in the B2B environment, a company trades on its people and the relationships they build, so a lack of networking strategy could spell disaster from day one.
While advertising, public relations and direct sales must form a key part of any new business strategy, they are not enough. Particularly in service-based businesses, self-proclaimed benefits and USPs will not guarantee sales. Recommendations and referrals are the most reliable source of new business. So, start-ups must quickly implement a strategy to foster long-term partnerships, relationships and advocacy. There is no substitute for building face-to-face relationships with other professionals with an emphasis on reciprocal arrangements and without the ‘hard sell’.
NRG runs events that break the mould of traditional networking. This is not a ‘PowerPoint and pitch’ process and doesn’t help those looking for a quick sale. Instead it is an advocacy model, with trust and familiarity at its core, as NRG Director, Martin Davies, explains: “NRG’s networking formula helps SMEs to build a network of trusted contacts who will happily make referrals with confidence. Over time, dedicated NRG networkers experience the full potential of networking, helping them secure long-term business success”.
2012
