How important is business networking?

It is often not what you know but who you know that can lead to greater career success and business opportunities.

Business networking is often used to help develop long-term relationships that are mutually beneficial with the aim to achieve specific goals and is important for overall success.

Many business leaders and entrepreneurs use channels such as LinkedIn to network, make new connections, and establish new business contacts. There are many useful tools to build your community and grow your career on LinkedIn and teach you how to stand out from the crowd and how to spotlight your skills for others to see, which can be very useful when you are trying to make new connections online.

However, effective networking in today’s society is not just about the online connections you make but also the face-to-face connections you make as well. With face-to-face networking, more can be conveyed in person rather than sending messages online that could be confusing or taken the wrong way.

But business networking is not something that comes naturally to all and is a skill that you may have to learn to perfect. While some contacts may yield immediate or ongoing benefits, others may take a while to develop. There is simply no way of knowing when a business relationship may be of critical importance in the future.

Like any relationship, it takes work to find the right people to start relationships with and nurture these relationships in order to yield results. It is an ongoing task that requires both time and dedication.

Networking is important in just about every industry for both individuals seeking to forward their career and businesses wanting to expand and experience greater success. The marketing industry is a very good example of how business networking can be beneficial.

It provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and also helps to promote credibility. It can also be beneficial for many other types of businesses too, such as finance, catering, and retail. Networking can also prove to be very beneficial in the iGaming industry too if you are a business professional who works within the online casino or sports betting sectors.

What value can business networking provide?

There are a number of benefits to business networking:

1. Lead generation

The most obvious benefit of networking is lead generation and probably the most important too. Not only is a new network contact a lead but they will refer and recommend a business with whom they have a relationship with. By partnering with them, you automatically become part of their network and so on and so forth.

2. Creating opportunities

In the business world, opportunities rarely present themselves. Business networking provides a means of creating opportunities. It is as important to recognise an opportunity when it presents itself and take advantage of it as it is to create new opportunities to achieve career and business success.

3. Being connected

Knowing exactly who to contact when there is a specific need or in a specific situation is always of benefit. Having to search for what is needed and then be unsure of reliability and reputation can be frustrating, time-consuming and risky. The ability to refer a connection to another network partner is a great way to solidify and grow a business network.

Where can you find business networking opportunities in the UK?

The obvious place is to go online and join networking sites specifically for making business connections such as LinkedIn or Bumble Bizz. Another great place that you can find networking or business events near you is Eventbrite. Eventbrite is not only a great place for you to find business talks, networking events, and meet-ups but you can also use it in your personal time too for great gigs and entertainment events to check out too.

There are also events and exhibitions that are held across the UK to promote business networking and are highly recommended to check out:

• The Great British Business Show held on the 18th and 19th of November is an exhibition and conference in one that showcases the importance and developments in customer engagement.
• GroExpo business success party invites attendees specifically to socialise and network and is being held on the 25th and 26th April this year.
• The Midlands Expo Business Show is expecting over 1000 businesses to attend this year on April 28th and is the ideal place to find new business contacts and networking opportunities.