In the digital age, companies still need to meet and exchange ideas. In this year’s Network Wales report, Glyn Mon Hughes looks at what networking means now, and Insider lists some of the country’s top venues.
Face time, networking, schmoozing – call it what you like, face-to-face conversation is still a big part of business life. And with the economy hitting a rocky patch, what better way of testing a supplier or customer’s prospects than looking into the whites of their eyes and asking: “How’s business?”
But with emails and proposals piling up at the office, there is more pressure to make sure your attendance at events will produce result.
“Networking events play an important part,” says Roger Young, the Institute of Directors’ executive director for Wales. “The successful ones are often based on the less is more principle where holding events with smaller numbers of people can often produce real results for those looking to build relationships.”
He picks out the institute’s breakfasts as particularly worthwhile, but adds: “There is always the need to ring changes. Virtual networks are growing and anything that utilises the options created by enhanced IT will become more popular.”
Tracey Jenkins, founder of Introbiz, a business networking club in Cardiff, is attempting to shake up the scene with her afternoon sessions. “There’s never enough time to network properly and get yourself in front of people, and connect with their businesses,” she says.
“I come from an advertising background and I would go to many networking events. But I always felt there were weaknesses. People from high-profile companies would turn up and sit at a table for lunch or breakfast and talk to six people. And they missed another 100 who were at the event, resulting in so many lost opportunities.”
Central to the Introbiz ethos is the use of new technology to drum up business leads. “We’ve introduced an ‘intro-wall’,” says Jenkins, “where we have a range of plastic business-card holders.
Members place their cards in the wall and make sure all visitors take a card. As a result, even if you don’t get to speak to everyone at the event, you’ll go away with contacts from businesses you want to use in the future.”
But some are concerned that new approaches and technology could erode the personal aspects of networking. “On-line marketing networks, forums and discussion boards are evolving rapidly and are good for gathering information,” says Jo Braham, events officer at the Caerphilly Business Forum. “But I am a great believer that networking and relationship building are much more efficient when carried out face to face rather than in any other forum.”
There is also the danger that businesses may feel bombarded by too many functions. “Networking is a huge buzzword at the moment but, unfortunately, the market is saturated with many different organisations offering similar events,” says Braham. “Those that are effective have a wide variety of people attending and will never have too many businesses from the same industries.”
Confident networkers can get plenty out of the best events. But it is important to remember a few rules – for example, not diving straight in every time. “Listen to others and ask questions,” adds Braham. “Relationships will naturally progress from there and you can then talk about your business to someone with open ears.”
Belief in the power of traditional networking was behind the relaunch in March of the M4 Business Network, which caters for companies close to Newport. The initiative was driven in part by a new sponsor – accountancy firm Peacheys – and is now chaired by Peacheys marketing director Steve Sulley.
But even with the emphasis on face-to-face contacts, new methods of meeting are catching on. “People are recognising the value of getting electronic access to networks,” says Matt Appleby, director of PR Wales at Golley Slater. “Social networking sites are well-established and people who are entering the workplace will have grown up with Facebook or Bebo.
“Twitter (the website that features short personal news updates) is certainly the method of the moment. And I think we’ll see that migrate from the personal space to the workplace.
“But you still have to be selective about which network is right for you,” he adds. “Do your homework and ask whether it’s just a lecture and a dinner that you’re attending or whether it is more than that.
And have a mechanism in place to follow up contacts once you’ve made them. Nobody expects to pick up business directly over the dinner table. It’s the follow-up that matters.”
Lynne Orton, managing director of the Business Network, based in Port Talbot, suggests a suck-it-and-see approach. “Visit a network once. See if it works for you, as there will be no pressure to join,” she says. “Remember the level of the network, too. Some are for start-ups. Others are for top-liners – the Institute of Directors, for instance. Ours is pitched very much in the middle.”
This particular network was a franchise, part of a UK-wide operation. Orton bought it out and now operates distinct networking operations in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea as well as Bridgend and Carmarthen.
Orton says: “There are new networking groups opening up every day. And while it can be easy to set up, sustaining the group is the problem. I’m happy to say that we’ve got members who joined us eight years ago when we set up and they’re still finding new business.”
Business Network member Gareth Jones, of jobs agency Adecco in Swansea, says the extra business is worth the time and effort: “One contact in particular led to the opportunity to recruit a new permanent member of the marketing team for a fellow business networker.”
Another network with a well-developed Welsh operation is 4N, which has 14,000 members with 200 fortnightly meetings held across the country. Meetings start at 8am and finish at 10am, and attendees get at least three ten-minute one-to-one appointments.
It extends to a busy website with opportunities for development, including a directory of clubs available for visits and online chatrooms.
But there are gaps. It’s hard to find networking groups in North Wales, although there are individual events and event series. It’s also hard to find Welsh-language business networking groups. These, perhaps, are gaps waiting to be filled.
Also in: April 2009
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