"Muck-raker": one who investigates and exposes issues; synonyms include: spin doctors, public relations professionals, marketing flacks
Letter from the editor...
In this issue you will find two stories focusing on business networking as a means of effective branding. The reason for this is that many of us have limited sales and marketing resources and often have to leverage the aid of colleagues and partners to help us spread the word about our business. This is especially true of small companies and businesses just coming out of the gates.
The phrase "never go it alone" is quite applicable in business today. Furthermore, why not leverage the effective help of trusted associates to help you extend the brand of your business?
If you choose to do so, however, it is imperative that you arm these professionals with succinct, precise messaging that they can use to effectively describe your business and the value you provide to potential clients. You don't want people trying to help you in a way that will wind up hurting you. You want to be sure these individuals are helping you spread the right word to the right people.
A great place to start is by getting involved with your local chamber of commerce and possibly one of the many networking groups they offer. You can also explore more advanced networking groups that target big-dollar deals such as B2BpowerExchange.com. I've only just learned about this group and have found it to be quite effective. It's made up of business-to-business (B2B) professionals looking to expand the scope of their offerings and their reach through true collaboration and business networking.
You can also find networking events in your area by searching Google for the words "networking events" and then list the major city closes to you. For example, for me in Southern California, I might enter in "networking events Los Angeles". When I do that, I come up with such helpful websites as:
socaltech.com/calendar/calendar.php
meetingsandmixers.com/la/events/index.php
These are both quality resources for finding and participating in local networking events, and there are many more out there. Go looking!
Commentary from the Marketing Industry:
"As a management consultant, I needed strong positioning to appear more than just another contractor. I focus on my ability to identify, clarify, and communicate a product team's single most compelling and achievable strategy, which is critical for innovators looking to seize profitable new business opportunities. Trusted colleagues then helped me create a strong visual brand and written background materials that consistently reinforce this message." (Stewart Noyce, Principal, TruNorth Consulting, noyce@trunorth.com)
"The way we differentiate is starting with objectives as opposed to tactics and then additionally validating which tactics and messages will work best for our client's given target audience. We do this through a process called Alignment Workshop." (Chris Pareja, chris@B2Bpowerexchange.com, Founder of LeadGenaires.com and B2BpowerExchange.com)
