A Great Way to Stay Connected

What is it?        How does it work?       Can it benefit my business?

Many of us join organizations and clubs or participate in various social activities to meet and interact with others in our personal lives. As pet care facility owners and operators, we also do this in our business lives and use these relationships to help service our customers. This is an especially important point.

Just as we join different groups through which we establish and maintain relationships on a personal level, it is critical to our overall success that we do the same as business people. In recent years, the rise of what is called "social networking" has greatly expanded our options and ability to establish and maintain relationships with others in the pet care industry.

So, what is this social networking thing?

Social networking allows us to group individuals into different "communities" with whom we can develop business relationships over the Internet that are free from geographical boundaries. The potential impact on our businesses from this is tremendous. Imagine having a great idea about a new way to furnish your doggie spa and being able to get advice from a top designer. With an online social network, not only do you benefit from vast resources, but depending upon your product or service there is the potential to greatly expand the number of customers you have.

Ok, so how do I do it?

Although relationships created through social networking can be done face-to-face, it is far more common for this to occur on the Internet. There are many Web sites devoted to connecting Internet users with similar interests much like pet care service providers and pet owners, for example. Some of the more popular Web sites that do this for businesses are Facebook (www.facebook.com), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) and MySpace (www.myspace.com). Users of these Web sites benefit most by joining and becoming members and then by contacting other members. Just as you might do when entering a face-to-face networking situation, it is helpful when joining an online social networking community to start with what you want to get out of it. The steps listed below will help you get going:

Identify weekly goals and set strategies. For example, perhaps a goal is to identify two new suppliers of a difficult to obtain organic pet food. You might create a strategy that involves researching and contacting potential suppliers regarding stock, pricing, shipping, etc. This first step is important as it will guide your actions and help ensure that you stay focused on your business needs.

Establish a set time to network and follow through on the steps in your strategy. Many of us allow ourselves to be sidetracked and unless you specifically set aside time to network, you run the risk of putting aside your social networking efforts in favor of unscheduled activities. The only way to meet your goals is to dedicate the time and effort to accomplishing them.

Networking, whether face-to-face or online is about relationships. If you want those with whom you interact to share their information and contacts with you, you have to do the same for them. Occasionally this may mean that you have to give information to those in your network before getting, or even expecting anything in return.

Monitor your network. Stay in periodic contact with the individuals and businesses you add to your network. Remember, relationships are key. As your business continues to grow, many of the businesses in your network will continue to grow as well. Staying in contact ensures that when you identify a new need, you will be better able to identify those individuals and businesses that will be in the best position to assist you.

Lastly, track your progress towards accomplishing your goals. As you complete your goals, maintain a history of the actions you took to resolve specific items. Doing this will ensure that over time you develop a great resource that will prove useful should similar needs arise in the future.

Social networks are nothing more than an Internet-based version of the traditional business relationships that we have always established and maintained. Whether face-to-face or online, our connections to others either as customers, suppliers, or promoters are crucial to the long-term survival of our businesses. Social networking gives each of us the tools necessary to cast our nets far and wide, let us make the most of this capability.

Source: The Marketing Brief Pet Services Journal Nov / Dec 2008