Strong networking is the foundation of a solid business practice. Market share is directly correlated with the efforts put into advertising and networking. While several platforms are available to increase brand recognition, only a select few are most effective at attracting new clients to a business endeavor.
Keen business practices and strong networking are directly related, and one aspect suffers without the support of the other. A strong network is paramount to increasing brand recognition and market share. As a corollary, a company can only thrive with a strong network.
Strong networking can take place in many forms. The oldest form of networking exists by word of mouth. Simply carrying a company card and advertising to friends and family can create a strong foundation for networking and a growing market. In fact, two major skills any sales professional needs are communication and strong relationship building. While traditional entrepreneurial practices dictate face-to-face communication, new sales professionals need to adapt to the evolving world of social media.
Online networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter are great marketing tools that effectively increase clientele and improve public relations. Hundreds of millions of people access these social media sites. With a potential market twice the population of the United States, social media is an unmatched marketing tool that needs to be exploited by every serious sales professionals. In fact, social media has become a popular buzzword for strong networking.
In addition to social media, search engine optimization is an often overlooked method of developing sales leads. Keyword density and the quality of content play a critical role in Google’s page rank algorithm. Furthermore, competing search engines, such as Yahoo and Bing, use similar methods for ranking pages. If your page appears within the first page of search results, sales leads multiply exponentially.
Developing organic traffic through search engine optimization can take months to see solid results. In the meantime, paid-per-click traffic is a great short-term marketing tool. Depending on capital, you can generate sales leads by paying search engines for highlighted links. The visibility of these links are based on how popular the keywords are and how much you bid, or pay, for each keyword.
Capital plays a huge role in the marketing campaign of a company. While many start-ups lack the capital of established firms, marketing on social media is free, and paid search engine advertising is not necessary until a strong foundation of customers is present.
The combination of word of mouth, social media, search engine optimization and paid traffic are all great ways to generate sales leads and build a strong network. Marketing is directly correlated to client acquisition, and most business endeavors emphasize advertising, public relations and strong networking. Without these factors, valuable market share is lost to competitors. Allocating company resources to networking and client relations is the most effective way to develop a brand.
"Likes on Facebook" by Cambodia4kids.org Beth Kanter licensed by CC BY 2.0
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