By Colin Kennedy
Surviving the economic downturn may be a simple case of good neighbourliness for small and medium businesses.
In fact, no matter what the state of the economy, looking for customers in your own backyard by ‘networking the neighbourhood’ is a pretty solid strategy – common marketing wisdom is that people do more business with people they like, and those who are within convenient reach.
Think about it… If you’re thinking of hiring a service or buying a product and you find out there’s a provider in your own street, isn’t the deal already two thirds done?
By keeping your business development local you’re not only more likely to convert new business, you also reduce the cost of travel, time and telephone.
There’s no reason why SME’s can’t do this kind of thing in their own areas too; perhaps even a ‘street barbeque for the neighbours’. Your business neighbours want the same thing as you – more business and lower costs, so why not facilitate that desire with some traditional networking?
