Performance metrics in the area of networking are those measurements that will tell you whether your efforts are resulting in business. Networking and relationship marketing are time intensive so you want to spend that time wisely. Performance metrics are the keys to this analysis.
Your networking should include a variety of business organizations. To find out which ones of these are worth pursuing you need to define, measure, and evaluate key performance metrics. These performance metrics need to be measured on a regular basis. Marketing through organizations and through networking is a marketing medium just like direct mail, e-mail, offline, or print media.
Your marketing plan would certainly include analyzing performance metrics for your advertising through television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Similar performance metrics for networking must also be monitored.
Example Performance Metrics
Direct costs associated with the networking
Number of events attended
Number of contacts generated
Number of sales leads generated
Number of referrals
Number of sales
Number of service contracts
Dollars generated from direct contacts
Dollars generated from referrals
Analyze your performance metrics per organization on a regular basis. 6 months is a decent time horizon. If the performance metrics don't show promise within this time frame, drop that particular organization and move on.
Stop spending so much time with organizations that aren't working out over a period of time. Foster deeper ties with those organizations and events that show the highest returns. Your performance metrics will separate the duds from the performers very quickly.
The Bottom Line on Performance Metrics
By tracking performance metrics you can determine very easily which of your networking efforts are paying off and which are simply eating up your time. Use performance metrics to compare one organization to another. Also use these performance metrics to compare your marketing performance via networking with your other marketing vehicles. This will tell you overall, what works and what doesn't.
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