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After-Hour
Power
With endless variations on the original theme,
Business After Hours has become a networking standby
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Business New Haven
11/2/1998
By: Priscilla Searles
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Business After Hours events have become an increasingly common vehicle for chambers of commerce to get their members together, to use as a platform for membership drives and, most importantly, provide networking opportunities for local business people. Of course, some chambers seem to do it better than others. Just what does it take to make a Business After Hours work?
Says Kathy Alagno, executive vice president of the Milford Chamber of Commerce: “Our Business After Hours is so successful we have people coming to us asking to sponsor a networking event. We're booked through April.” With a membership base of 600, the Milford chamber draws 90 to 150 people each month, usually closer to the higher number. The group holds ten Business After Hours events a year.
The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce faces different challenges than its smaller Milford neighbor. With a membership base of 1,200 companies and businesses and 2,500 people within those companies on its mailing list, the regional chamber must combat a certain degree of apathy.
Says Lorna Lamoureux, the New Haven chamber's vice president of programs and customer service: “People are becoming more and more isolated. It's easier to stay at home in your old clothes if you own a home-based business than to get dressed up to go to a networking event. And we've had to deal with the five o'clock time,” says Lamoureux. “Is there a better time, are people too tired at the end of the day to attend another event?”
Like Milford, New Haven finds businesses eager to sponsor Business After Hours. “New restaurants, new businesses are anxious to get the word out,” says Lamoureux, “and Business After Hours is a great way to introduce a new business to the people who ultimately are going to make or break that business. But sometimes we go to a new business and point out the advantages of sponsoring Business After Hours - it's a wonderful promotional tool. We went to the Omni [New Haven Hotel at Yale] before it opened. It was their first event, with 600 people attending. Our normal attendance is 150 to 200.
“A great restaurant is a big draw,” adds Lamoureux. “And when the [baseball New Haven] Ravens first arrived in New Haven, we had an event at their pavilion and 300 people came. When we tried to repeat it the following year, it was less successful. People had a been-there-done-that attitude. It is really a challenge to keep people interested.”
The Milford chamber looks at networking events as a partnership with the sponsor. “Sponsors want to feel they are a part of the planning process” says Alagno. “They have contributed the location and refreshments, and we expect them to be involved. I'm not going to book a Business After Hours and say I'll handle everything.
“Themes are important to us, and we try to plan timely events,” Alagno explains. “For example, we held a table-top expo in October at Connecticut Limousine. We limited participation to 30 tables, with companies displaying their marketing and advertising materials. We used the expo to launch our membership drive, and in November we're having a victory party at Sir Speedy. We're awarding prizes and it does make people work harder to increase our membership base.”
Alagno notes that, “We get requests from sponsors whose facilities are too small, and in these cases we try to combine chamber members and themes, finding a facility that works for both sponsors.”
New Haven also tries to combine sponsors when appropriate and also looks to other special events happening in New Haven. “We try to have a Business After Hours with some special event happening in New Haven,” says Lamoureux. “New Haven has so much going on. People don't have time to go to three or four events a week. You see the same people at these events. If we try to piggy-back with things that are going on, it's more exciting and we can work together with another organization to make it a win-win situation.”
Milford tries to tie an event into the program for each Business After Hours. “For example,” says Alagno, “in November we're having a membership victory party at Sir Speedy Printing. We'll award prizes for top membership sales. It's an incentive for members to encourage other businesses to join the chamber.
“Another key to a successful Business After Hours,” says Alagno, “is making sure members are notified well in advance. We mail two notices and follow up with a broadcast fax five or six days before the event, just as a reminder.“
So, what's the attraction for attendees? Says Alagno: “People come to Business After Hours to network. It's exposure, it's advertising dollars. Those attending are prospective contacts and what better way to make that first contact? People can't be shy about making that first contact with a prospective client. That's what these events are for.”
So, what separates a well-run Business After Hours, from apoor one? Potential pitfalls include not getting the word out early and often. A simple reminder postcard mailed one week before the event to members is a worthwhile investment.
The site itself is key: Ideally, it represents some kind of a draw on its own merits - such as the BAH the New Haven chamber held at the new Omni hotel, which attendees were eager to see for the first time. Size counts, too (a too-small room will discourage people from staying long, and a too-large room is even worse - it will feel empty and make the event seem unsuccessful), and parking is of course key. Advance notices should also include clear directiosn to the site, so staff aren't bombarded with phone calls the day of the event.
Experts agree that chambers need to educate their members, too. Many potential attendees do not necessarily know how to network, and techniques to get the most mileage out of what may begin as a casual introduction. Educational sessions such as three the New Haven chamber will hold in November to teach networking skills can pay off for attendees and sponsors alike.
Lamoureux certainly believes so. “Business After Hours is a service we provide our membership, but some people don't seem to realize that networking if critical for a successful business. We do Business After Hours because people do business with people they know. What better vehicle to meet potential clients or customers?”
Business After Hours sponsors need to do more than simply provide a site and finger food: They need to be part of a team effort to make the event successful. Joint chamber and sponsor input and communication seem always to produce the best results.
Finally, prospective chamber members ought to be encouraged to attend Business After Hours events. But care must be taken that, if they do, they are not ignored or made to feel out of place. One simple, effective remedy: Assigning a member to escort the potential member to the event can make everyone feel more comfortable - and get that networking process off to a running start.
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