That Was The Jubilee, That Was!

[Keith Grover, NiS Founder]

Sadly, it's all over - That Was The Jubilee, That Was!

All in all, a splendid re-affirmation that a Constitutional Monarchy is a great antidote to lifetime Presidents, who somehow all turn out to be evil, self-serving liars and crooks (or worse)- IMHO, of course. Marmalade sandwiches all round!

Now it's time to settle in for a Bank-Holiday-free early Summer Term of work and networking - huzzah!

Networkland is buzzing, with over 70 featured EVENTS listed on Networking in Surrey in the coming weeks, as well as all our Regular Group Meetings and more. It's still very much a buyer's market, with networking organisations scrambling for market share and eager to get more attendees to their meetings.

We networkers now have a myriad online events to choose from, many free or very low-cost. And real-world events are increasingly opening back up again, meaning networkers definitely are spoilt for choice...

I forecast very early on in Lockdown that networking organisers would have to up their game and innovate to differentiate their offering in order to survive and thrive in the post-Pandemic New Normal world.

One interesting new opportunity which I am surprised has taken so long for the on-liners to grasp, is collaborating with other non-competing groups.

Virtual meetings allow diverse organisations to share their audience with each other without diluting (and in fact, amplifying) their appeal. Members are paying a sub because they like a particular group, but organisers can easily hold joint online meetings at pretty much zero additional cost and with little fear of 'churn'. It's a win-win, because the Members of both sides get to meet more people, with no geographical boundaries - limited only by time-zone differences.

That's how NiS Member David Harris is able to offer 5 meetings in the coming week to his Peppercorn Network members in a tie-up with networks in South Africa and the USA - all included in their £10 per month sub.

This new opportunity is not really a viable option for face-to-face-only groups, so I predict that the vast majority of networking organisations will be running a hybrid events programme going forward, simply to be able to compete with the online joint-venturers...

Interesting times in Networkland!

[Photo by Elena de Soto on Unsplash]