How many of us have gotten involved in business networks that went nowhere? We go to regular meetings and we talk across steaming coffee cups over boxes of donuts, hopeful at first, but ever becoming more disillusioned as the months roll on. Wouldn’t it be great to network in profitable ways instead of simply wasting our time?

The internet is a network, as the name implies, and there are some powerful tactics to be employed there-in. Many are seldom used. Combine internet networking strategies with intelligent street level tactics, and forget about the donuts! Bigger things can happen, and do!

The first thing to look at is, "Who should my network consist of?" Joining an existing network is great, if it fits your needs. Non competitive participants are best, however you define that. Sometimes a company that is in close geographic proximity is a competitor because they provide comparable goods or services, but the same company that is geographically distant can be a great non-competitive partner. In the second scenario, both of you can usually benefit from cooperation.

Otherwise, there are companies that are non-competitive and synergistic. A window cleaning company and a painting company are good examples. After the painter has finished the house, the windows will really need to be cleaned. Of course, there are companies too that are non-competitive, but not really synergistic either. These can fit into their own networks, and then networks of synergistic companies can network together as well.

The point is, custom networks usually serve the interests of all better than just falling into something randomly. Obviously however, in a customized network someone will have to have taken the initiative organizationally in the first place.

Next, there is the consideration of what KIND of benefit you can bring to each other. There is messaging assistance where one company will allow the other to pitch its message to their audience. There are also straight referral activities that businesses can trade in. In order to perform these tactics effectively, it is good to prepare what we, at Dragnet Marketing, call a Media Map. This is an exercise that identifies what kinds of media each company already uses. This can be telephone book ads, radio or TV commercials, vehicle or storefront signage, or any number of other common or uncommon media activities. If everyone in the network knows the media map of the other companies, then intelligent economy of scale tactics, as well as blended messaging and other strategies can be enacted, driving down the cost of message delivery, and at the same time increasing the effectiveness of it.

Peer Maps are another Dragnet Marketing concept where each member of the network looks at the different interface methods that it has with its micro market. One company may have an in-home presence either in sales, or installation, or both, while another company has a strong walk in market. How can these access points be shared to the benefit of both while at the same time not being detrimental to either. Email messages can have references to other synergistic companies on them without detracting from the legitimacy of the primary company. Also, business cards have two sides. The primary side can be a normal card while the secondary side can say, "We Trust Company #2".

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