Marketing returns are an important consideration to any business or corporation. Investing the time and monies into marketing requires a lot of trust and communication with other people; some of whom work behind the scenes and you may never meet face to face. If you want to take your business marketing into your own hands, do not hire a marketing team – join one.

Marketing, referral or networking groups facilitate the meeting of fellow, local business owners in your area and generally meet once a week. For every area of location, each referral network in a community generally has several chapters to choose from. Each chapter provides an exclusive membership to one person within their field of business. This means, that if you are a general contractor, you will be the only general contractor in the group or chapter; or if you are an optometrist, you will be the only optometrist in the group and so on. If another like business owner already holds a chair within that chapter another local chapter is easy to find.

The benefit of being the only business owner in your field within the group is so that the other members will refer the people they meet and know only to you. Setting aside time once a week to meet with fellow business owners in your community can prove to be an invaluable investment to the future growth of your business. These meetings are held in the early morning and are structured to meet the individual needs and vision of every person within the group. At every meeting you will be given the opportunity to share who you are, what you do, where you are located and the kind of referral you are looking for. You are encouraged to bring business cards and / or flyers to each meeting so the other members of the group have something to pass along when they refer you to their friends, family and other contacts. During each meeting you will also be given forum to give and receive referrals with the other members of the group. Getting to know local business people in your area and relying on word of mouth are two of the most cost effective ways you can market your business. The challenge for some in these marketing groups is weekly attendance. However; since your participation within the chapter is exclusive to one person of your profession, you are holding a position in the group that could be attended by someone else who may be a more consistent source of referrals for the other participants who do show up every week.

There is a nominal fee to join, an annual due and a fee for to cover the cost of your breakfast every week. However; most participants of these groups have found great success using this referral system of marketing and enjoy the opportunity to help grow each other’s businesses. Two of the most successful referral marketing teams are Business Network Inc. (BNI) and Team Referral Network (TEAM).

These groups always have a positive atmosphere and are a source of encouragement to any local business owner; they are proof that marketing your own business can be fun! If you are curious about joining a marketing group, I would recommend checking out TEAM, as the first two breakfasts are free to newcomers.

References:

TEAM Referral Network: Together Everyone Achieves More., “Don’t Hire a Sales Team,.. Join One!”
Web, 28 July 2011.

BNI Local Business – Global Network., BNI Home Page;; Web, 29 July 2011 <http://www.bni.com/>

Also See: Marketing > On-Site Service Providers and their Role in Marketing Your Brand