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[B957]Building A Business Network

by Michael Laleye, Mic

Once you have a home business going, you still have the most important job of all to accomplish, that of building your network of customers and/or clients. After all, without a network of contacts, you will not have any reason to have a business, will you? It doesn't matter what kind of business you have chosen because in every business, whether it's a product or service, there is a need for customers/clients.

There is no business, online or off, that can survive without benefit of networking. Even if you are a service provider of a creative nature, you need to network in order to assure that you will constantly have those who are interested in buying what you create.

For some people, the idea of networking conjures up the idea of going door to door or making phone calls to people they don't know, but that is not the idea at all. In fact, the best networking tool is providing good service so that your customers will refer others to your business. Word of mouth is always a better sales tool than any other type of networking that you can do. Of course, even though referrals are your most effective network tool, that doesn't meant that it is or should be your only tool.

Even with referrals, you need to do some networking if you expect your business to be successful and to continue to maintain success. That doesn't mean that you have to get on the phone every day and contact people nor does it mean that you have to constantly surf the Internet to find others who are interested in what you have to offer. However, you do need to take time on a regular basis to perform networking activities, which may vary from contacting referrals to simply promoting your website.

The value of networking has been underemphasized in many respects, and because of that, many new businesses are doomed to fail before they are even out of the planning stages. However, you choose to network for your business is not the issue, but if you expect your business to succeed, you have to promote it.

Do not be fooled into thinking that once you have your client base, you no longer have to promote your business because if you accept that line of thinking, you will not be in business for very long. Customers are fickle, so they will not always buy goods or services from you. You need to have a backup plan for those times when "regular" customers decide to utilize the services of another provider.

Unless your product or service is unique, which is unlikely unless you are an inventor, people will go where they find the products or services they want at the price they want to pay. Always be prepared for these slow times by continually networking for new customers.

Businesses are increasingly turning to electronic billboards, large plasma display screens and their own in-location narrowcasting networks (referred to in marketing as “digital signage”) to make their business case and sales pitch to customers and clients as a major part of their marketing efforts. It is estimated that the number of sites hosting narrowcasting networks that market for third parties – these are not the displays and digital signs where a retailer promotes his or her own products – are expected to grow from the roughly 210,000 sites currently hosted in the retail, hospitality, hospital and transportation sectors where digital signs are most predominant, to over 850,000 by 2011.

This statistic, if nothing else, makes it clear that the future of digital signage and electronic billboards has great potential. When building a business case for digital signage, you need to focus on the potential and address some of the challenges.

Unlocking the Potential of Electronic Billboards

When examining your business strategy and plan for deploying digital signage, be sure that you have defined the goals you have in mind for your digital signs. What do you want your digital signs or narrowcasting network to communicate? How do you want it to shape or influence the behaviour of your customers or clients? The most common goals cited for utilizing digital signage are the potentials for boosting sales, building brand and reducing perceived wait times. A few examples of the versatility of digital signs may be helpful.

- Retailers can use digital messaging to inform customers about specials in-store, lead them to other areas of the store, and communicate branding messages.

- Banks and other financial institutions can post interest rates and provide messaging that distracts customers from long waits.

- Narrowcast screens displayed above gasoline pumps can market additional services and products – oil, car washes, other auto accessories – or they can be used to generate additional revenue by marketing the products and services of third party retailers and companies.

- Digital menus at quick service restaurants entice customers to buy more items. They can also speed up the service line by helping customers make their purchase decisions faster.

Challenges of Electronic Billboards

When planning your business case for setting up a digital media network as part of your marketing efforts, don't be blinded by the technological appeal and the potentials offered by increasingly sophisticated digital advertising software. Be sure to address the challenges as well. Here are some of the most common challenges retailers and others have faced in deploying, utilizing and optimizing their digital signs and narrowcast network systems:

- Cost is the most commonly cited challenge. The hardware is cheaper now and there is a range of options in type and size of screen that can help you control costs. You may have further expenses for content creation. Be sure to weigh these costs against savings in printing and paper. In doing so, note that digital signage allows immediate updates controlled from a central location, so there are no costly delays in getting new signs posted in stores.

- As it is for most marketing initiatives, content is one of the great challenges of digital signage. Messages need to catch people's attention in a matter of seconds. Sound is not usually an option in a retail environment, so visuals are key. These factors make it very difficult to re-use existing marketing collateral, meaning that new content is required.

- If you have a large organization that places screens in several locations, varying screen dimensions may force you to tweak content to make sure it is effective on screens of different sizes.

- Working with a digital signage provider that can supply and maintain both the screens and displays – the hardware – as well as customize and update the content – the software that runs and is run on a company's network - is a recommended strategy for meeting the challenges that arise as technologies improve.

Benefits of Electronic Billboards

The technical benefits of electronic signage are well-documented. It is immediate and flexible. Updates are easy and messages can be quickly changed to respond to varying demographics.

Integrating the business case for digital signage into your overall business plan based on projected sales increases, deeper branding of your services or products, and estimating the savings from increased efficiencies through the use of digital signs is a little more challenging, but it can be done.

A 2008 Digital Signage Today guide on the current state of the digital signage industry describes how to gauge customer response to digital messaging by comparing point of sale (POS) data to the digital signage playlist. Here are two examples of how this is done:

- A retailer uses its digital signs to promote a loyalty program. Reviews of when the promo spots were played can be compared to the times people signed up for the program to see if the digital signs boosted signups.

- A quick service restaurant can put a “coupon” code in its digital signs. When customers cite that code to order a meal, that data is recorded in the POS system, providing a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the digital signs.

By addressing the challenges and using the evaluation methods outlined above, and working with an experienced and innovative supplier of digital signage and digital advertising software and content to meet this technology's challenges while fully reaping its potential, there is a strong business case for the deployment of digital signage, display screens and electronic billboards in many different sectors. The strong business model for utilizing digital signs and electronic billboards is evidenced by the strong predicted growth numbers for digital screens and narrowcasting networks in the retail, hospitality, hospital and transportation sectors where penetration by this innovative marketing technology is already greatest.

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Both Michael Laleye & James Barry are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Michael Laleye has sinced written about articles on various topics from Women, Advertising Guide and Home Schooling. Michael Laleye Is A Plug In Profit Site Member As Well As An Authority On Developing Home Home Business Networks. Get more Information On How To Build Your Own. Michael Laleye's top article generates over 301000 views. to your Favourites.

James Barry has sinced written about articles on various topics from Information Technology, Build Online Business and Computers and The Internet. For more information on , narrowcasting or. James Barry's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.