When Word-of-Mouth Networking May Not Be Enough

By BNI & Referral Institute - Dec 07 , 2011

By Lester M. Salvatierra

Your word-of-mouth networking strategy may not be enough to help you reach your business goals.

There, I’ve said it.

For you super-ambitious business people out there who aren’t seeing the results you’d anticipated after running around from chamber meeting to mixer to ribbon-cutting to your networking group meetings, it’s time to stop and reevaluate your overall strategy.

I am the number-one advocate for marketing by referral and word-of-mouth. I truly believe that for your business to be successful, word-of-mouth must be a component of your marketing strategy. But it can’t be the only part of your strategy unless you plan to retire soon.

As part of an informal study, I spoke to my local chiropractor recently and learned that he gets a steady stream of business from his networking group — the only form of marketing he does consistently. He gets excellent results, but he’s the exception. Why? Because when I researched a little deeper, I found that my chiropractor happens to belong to a networking group that consists of seasoned business professionals who are all very active with their marketing and community involvement. The chiropractor benefits because his “team” has a multitude of marketing channels other than network marketing that bring many opportunities to his plate. But what if? What if this weren’t the case? His results could be completely different.

My second study was a massage therapist who was in a group less dynamic than the one to which the chiropractor belongs.  Although she gets a few referrals a month, and is involved in many aspects of her chapter, her business was stagnant. Yet she has continued plodding along: going to more mixers, events and networking meetings because it had been drilled into her that networking is all that she needs for her to be as successful as she envisions herself to be. She doesn’t advertise online or in print or any other way, and she has been adamant in continuing to do what she’s been doing. Her networking was not working and after some long discussions with her, she realized that she needed to get her brand out in the community on a wider, more intense scale.

A Multi-Pronged Approach

Finally, I spoke with an attorney who’s been in his networking group for several years. His chapter averages about 25 members. This attorney is always upbeat, energetic and seemingly very busy. I discussed with him how he achieved his level of success, and he detailed his well thought-out marketing strategy, which included email campaigns, social media that include regular blogging and article-writing, and marketing his website with search-engine optimization. He also engages in direct print-mail advertising and is a regular guest expert for his local radio station. This attorney has basically blitzed the local market with his message from a variety of angles and it has worked quite well for him. Though his networking group got him some of his best accounts, his other media marketing also brought him considerable business. His marketing mix never left him vulnerable; when one channel slowed down, the others were still producing new sales leads for him.

We cannot rely on one medium or channel to build up and promote our businesses for the long term. If you put all your chips on network marketing, then you may not reach the level of success you aspire to reach. I see my networking peers year-in and year-out doing the same thing, attending their same networking events yet not really making any progress and quietly complaining about it behind closed doors. Some have gotten into the habit of doing what they do that they hardly even try to make solid connections anymore. Why? Because telling people about your business and how great your service is and how experienced you are demands using several marketing channels to be truly effective. Take a step back and evaluate your product or service

How broad of a potential customer base are you trying to reach and how many outlets of marketing are you using to reach that segment? It you are only using one or two avenues, then it may be time to expand and explore more strategies to reach your goals.

Lester M. Salvatierra is an experienced and licensed Finance Specialist with First U.S. Finance (http://www.FirstUSFinance.com). He helps small to mid-size companies lease or finance a wide variety of equipment and special projects nationwide. He is passionate about referral marketing and is a business networking coach and Area Director Consultant for Business Network Int’l in Ventura County, California. Sign up now to follow his business networking blog at: http://theRogueNetworker.com