Month: April 2020

Getting The Most Out Of Online Networking

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Digital Marketing
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From webinars to virtual business shows, Twitter hours to web hosted speed networking, making new contacts and schmoozing online has been around for a while. But it seems now, more than ever, we are relying on it as part of our new daily norm, and to be honest, it’s not that easy!

OK, so showing up, saying hello and listening to what everyone else has to say isn’t that hard … but really making the most of it and getting as much from online networking as you would from meeting someone face to face is definitely a bit trickier.

As experienced remote workers, we’ve been attending these types of events for years. Let us share with you our top tips for making the most of them:

First off, you need to find the right event/s to attend. The same as you would for an ‘in person event’, consider what you can give and what you will get out of it. Is the audience right for you? Who do you want to work with, support or develop new relationships with? Whether you’re at home; a local sports hall; or a conference centre, your time is just as valuable – show up to the right event for YOU.

Once you’ve discovered your ideal Twitter hour or online lunch networking group, find out as much as you can before you attend. What subjects do they discuss? What’s the format of the event? Before you join, use the information you find out to think about some questions and useful content you can share. That way, not only will you add real value, you will also save time allowing you to focus on speaking with and learning more about the other members.

Prep’ done! Let’s talk about ‘being in the room’. 

The best piece of advice we can give you for online networking is to constantly visualise ‘being in the room’. With the safety and comfort of being behind your laptop screen, it can be easy to shrink into the background and just watch the events unfold in front of you. It can be daunting wondering what to say, how to say it and even when. Imagining you’re in the room with everyone, sipping a drink, wandering round and poking your face in to say hello and introduce yourself, suddenly makes it much easier. If you were there, chatting away, what would you say? You would ask them about their business wouldn’t you! You’d find out more, ask probing questions, and conversations would flow onto various subjects – business and personal. From there, you can network as you usually would. Show an interest, see if you can help each other, find out as much as you can for a short period, then move on to find out more about the next person. Networking!

Beware the danger trap – Don’t just shout and run!

It’s easy to mistake shouting and leaving as ‘getting involved’. For example, you’re attending a virtual business show and have done all your prep’. You’ve spent ages working out what you want to say and have created a few posts ready. It’s very likely that all those posts talk about you, your business, what you have to offer, why I should use you etc. and so on… That’s great, and of course will be needed, but it’s extremely important to think about timing and engagement. If you were ‘in the room’ and someone came to your stand, would you turn to them, quickly highlight your services and then just as quickly turn away again saying nothing more? Of course not! You would say ‘hi’, introduce yourself, ask them about themselves and what they do. Apply the same logic here. Don’t go ‘into the room’ shout your name and leave again. It will have the same effect as if you had walked into a face to face meeting. You might cause a stir initially, but no one will pay much notice after that. 

Your personal brand, business brand and how you come across are also important to consider. Again, continue to use the ‘being in the room’ trick. Just because you’re online, doesn’t mean you should start acting like you’re on Facebook or a family WhatsApp group! Remember that you’re still representing your company, and you want to make the best impression possible (much harder without the luxury of body language I know). Try to strike a nice balance between professional and friendly. Nothing stand-offish, and definitely not too familiar – even if you know someone very well, others won’t know that and a few eyebrows might be raised! At all times, imagine you’re standing in front of the person you’re talking to and respond as you would normally. Be open, helpful and genuine. Try to help as many people as possible, showing your worth and adding real value to the event.

Finally, once the speed networking, webinar (or whatever it is!) has ended, remember to progress any key contacts or developing relationships outside of the event. Follow up in the same way as you would if you had met them in person and taken their business card. Remember – all the best business is done once the event has finished.

We hope you’re found this blog useful. We run our own weekly networking hour over on Twitter between 8-9pm on a Wednesday evening. Please come along @SMESupportHour #SMESupportHour.

If you have any questions about online networking or would like to chat, please get in touch anytime! We look forward to hearing from you: makeithappen@mbsmih.com  |  01903 688789

12 Things To Do When Business Is Quiet

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support
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There are no times when we want our businesses to be quiet. Whether it’s due to temporary economic, social or environmental impacts, personal or staffing issues, or even just because you are seasonal.

Right now, most of us are in a forced situation of business closure or at best, a real slow down. Not ideal, but there are plenty of ways we can try to make the best of it and come out better on the other side.

Here’s our list of positive business development ideas that will help ensure when work gets back to normal, you will be in a much better position than before!

Online Business Listings – If you’ve already listed your business on the various free, freemium and paid websites, great! Now is the time to review your listings and get them up to date and consistent. 

If you haven’t, use this time to start. The easiest thing to do is search ‘free online business listings’ via your favourite web browser, and get started. Aim for listing your business on at least 10 sites.

Blogs – Use the time to curate as many helpful and insightful blogs as possible. Focus on subjects your ideal customer would be interested in and get to work sharing your wisdom. Don’t upload them all now, create the content and then think about an ideal rollout plan. The idea is that you’re using the time now to get into a better position for the future. Publish them weekly, bi-weekly or monthly (depending on how many you create). Also consider aligning them with future marketing efforts.

Website – When was the last time you reviewed and updated your website? Now is the perfect time to get busy making your website the best online window for your company. Refresh all the copy, update images, add new important pages and remove old irrelevant ones. Use the time to research other sites in your industry and get ideas for making yours the best and most user friendly.

Marketing – Sort through all your marketing materials, physical and virtual. Are they up to date and still sending the right message? Do they align with your strategy for the next 12 months and have your latest branding and imagery? Whilst you might not have the budget or reasons to get new leaflets or booklets printed right now, there’s no harm getting organised and making it quick and easy for when you do. The same for online ads, banners and videos etc. Start organising them now, making sure they fit in with your future plans. 

Existing Product or Service Review – Why not take some time to think about the current services and products you offer. In what ways can they be improved or better aligned to serve the current market – and in fact, the inevitable new market that will evolve once the ‘quiet period’ is over.

New Product or Service Review – As with the above, are there any new products or services you can add to your existing offerings? What are your competitors doing? Now is the time to think about ways you could improve what you have to offer. 

Staff Benefits and Support – What do you currently have in place to help develop and motivate your team? Why do they want to work for you and not someone else? It’s something we should be thinking about all the time, but when you’re busy and business is booming it’s hard to find the time to continuously review the benefits and support available to your employees. Use this slow period to really think about the overall package you offer and make your company the one everyone wants to work for!

Company Structure – Shutting for a period, reducing staff numbers or having to work from home will force you to think about the structure of your business. You don’t have to wait for these things to happen in order to consider if your current structure is the most effective and efficient for your company, but when it does, why not make the most of it by thinking about how you can best progress moving forwards.

Cashflow Forecasting – It might seem difficult or pointless during times of change to work out your cashflow forecast for the coming months or years, but in actuality it’s an important time to do so. You have much of the information you need from previous trading periods, and can research and engage with others who can help.

Accounts – Get your bookkeeping up to date. Sort through those receipts, invoices and purchase orders. Input everything onto your accounting system and surprise your accountant by being ahead of the game for a change! Use this time to get up straight before business gets back to ‘normal’, taking a weight off your shoulders – for a while, at least.

Business Plans and Goals – Get back to basics and remind yourself of your goals for your business. Why you do what you do and what you want to achieve overall. Have a think about the future and realign any new ideas and plans. Give yourself the chance to daydream and reimagine, and get to work rekindling your focus.

Social Media Scheduling – Hopefully you’re still out there on your company social media channels, interacting with your audiences regardless of the current status of your business. You don’t want to be forgotten or dropped by the wayside because you lost interest! Importantly though, you could also be thinking about the future of your social media marketing strategy. When it’s all ‘BAU’ and you’re incredibly busy back on the day to day runnings, having a quality staple of posts, images and content to share would remove some of the pressure. Even better, scheduling that content in advance will save you valuable time each day that you can use for interacting instead!

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a start. Hopefully it’ll inspire you to come up with more of your own proactive ways to use the quiet time productively and hit the ground running as soon as you return.

If you have any ideas, please share them with us, and if you’d like to chat any thoughts through, we’d be very happy to listen: makeithappen@mbsmih.com  |  01903688789