How Software Can be the Key to Unlocking Networking Opportunities
Networking events are a very saturated area of business. Since the virtual networking boom post-COVID, it’s difficult to find networking events that you find worth your time and sometimes money.
In this article, we teamed up with Databound Limited to identify the vital role software can make in getting the most out of the next networking event you go to.
Whether they’re face to face or virtual events, software can be the key to unlocking more opportunities.
Digital Tools for Better Connections
Why do we attend networking events and conferences? It’s mainly to build relationships and connect with potential clients or like-minded individuals. There are many digital tools out there which can help strengthen your position when you meet new people.
For example, LinkedIn and Contapp are the first ones that come to mind. LinkedIn is the number one platform to connect with business professionals and it’s usually the first place you go to when searching for specific people in business. It’s a great platform to build a network.
“40% of people say they network more online than in person”
Contapp on the other hand is the must-have business tool when it comes to sharing and saving contact information. In short, it’s everything you wished your business card could do. It’s an all-in-one solution to business card data management. Contapp even works as a digital business card, allowing you to share it face to face or across multiple platforms.
What these two tools have in common is having easy access to the data behind the people you meet. Unlike conventional methods of sharing data, like printed business cards, softwares and integrations can help use that data in an efficient, automated way.
Convenience is King
If a software can streamline processes, save you time & money, plus boost convenience, it’s normally a big thumbs up from almost every business professional.
Let’s revisit Contapp and printed business cards, as these are two tools used for networking events. Printed business cards are a real headache, expensive, lost/damaged easily, not eco-friendly and require manual input when processing that data. Just to name a few.
In 2021, no one in business wants to deal with these inconveniences, especially when there’s a streamlined, digital solution. Which is why Contapp has become so popular amongst individuals and businesses.
We live in a fast-paced world where we expect things to be instantaneous. Data processing, sharing your contact information, even safely storing someone’s business card without it getting damaged. It has to be quick, which is why software plays a big part in doing so.
Easily Extracting & Using Business Card Data
Going to lots of networking events often means you have piles of business cards waiting to be saved digitally. We’ve all been there. This is another example of how software can take away that headache for you to use that data to your advantage.
Printed business cards are just a piece of paper. No matter how you dress it up, it’s paper with ink on it, that can’t directly be actioned unless you manually type it into a desktop or your phone.
“Over 60% of people plan to embrace digital communications more”
A digital alternative, such as the Contapp app, allows you to directly contact people, plus save, store & manage your entire collection of business cards. Even when it comes to searching or filtering for a group of contacts, you can do this easily through the intelligent search feature.
Included in someone’s Contapp business card will be:
- Full name
- Company name
- Industry
- Contact information (phone, email, address)
- Social media profile links (such as LinkedIn for example
- Website
- Where you met (Google Maps integration)
- Additional notes
When you can share this kind of information in a simple swipe/click, it allows you to be more productive when meeting new people. Every bit of information is saved directly to their smartphone automatically.
This is the most productive and secure way of sharing your contact information.
Extracting that data from paper to digital is painless, as you can export this data as a CSV file (premium users only, from £1.33 per month). Meaning you can upload the list of people you met into a CRM or MailChimp and create a campaign.
Software & Networking, Working Hand-in-Hand
A perfect example of how networking events and software can complement each other is the ‘Powered by Contapp’ networking events which have proved a huge success.
What this means is networking partners of Contapp will host a networking event, however attendees are not required to bring any printed business cards with them. Instead, everyone will download Contapp for free and easily create their digital business card via the app. This makes sharing information directly to each other’s libraries seamless and contactless.
These ‘Powered by Contapp’ events have been beneficial for all involved; the event organisers, attendees, Contapp and even the planet due to zero paper waste at the event.
Final Conclusion
In today’s digital world, if you’re not keeping up with the latest technology trends and processes, unfortunately you’ll be falling behind. This applies to the way you use and store data, starting with the way you collect that data, in this case networking events.
As we’ve demonstrated in this article, digital tools such as Contapp should be a must-have application in your digital tool box, to get the most out of the data you collect. Using this in a networking environment would bring benefits immediately.
Gone are the days of printed business cards and conventional manual data input. We live in a world where we need things now. Streamlined management and easy access to the data we need to take action, such as business card information.
Software can be the key to unlocking more opportunities.
About Databound Limited
Databound Limited is the go-to company that can provide bespoke services to outsource your data management, saving you time & money with expert tools and consultation. Data collection, transformation, visualisation and automation of processes, including machine learning based solutions.
Whether you are a one-person start-up, a non-profit organisation or an established company, together they can explore solutions to your problems, so that you can focus on what you do best.
Find out more about Databound Limited here.
Read: How Do You Collect Business Cards In The Post-Pandemic World?
Experience Better Contact Management Today
Discover a smarter and more convenient way of digitally managing, using and sharing business card data today by downloading Contapp for free on iOS & Android.
Save time, money and the planet – all at the same time.
