BNI Chapter: Northwest Arkansas Network Builders
Meets: 7:00 am Thursdays
Location: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 211 SE Walton Blvd, Bentonville
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Contact BNI Arkansas
©2006 Business Network Int'l - Arkansas Joe McBride - Executive Director joe@bniarkansas.com Phone: (501) 568-5492
Welcome to BNI Arkansas. For more information, contact Executive Director Joe McBride at (501) 568-5492.
The textbook for my college marketing survey course reported that word-of-mouth was the most cost effective form of advertising. Unfortunately, for many of us, that is all the book said on the subject. There were several chapters on media advertising, but nothing more on word of mouth advertising or word of mouth marketing. So the one thing they rate as the most cost effective marketing tool gets almost no attention from the conventional marketing gurus.
As a small business professional, it has been my experience that referrals are one of the most important sources of new clients. Building business by word-of-mouth has always been a part of my marketing strategy. After all, almost everyone would like to run their business with no cold calls needing to be made.
When it comes to building word of mouth, the first thing that most people think of is "Networking." The idea of belonging to some sort of "leads club" or "tips club" or "leads group" or "tips group" has been around for many years. Nationally, in addition to BNI (Business Network Intl. or Business Network International, groups like ProfNet, Ali Lassen's Leads Club, LeTip, and in many areas, Chamber of Commerce sponsored groups are all an option for a business person. In Little Rock, Arkansas, there are groups like the Central Arkansas Executives Association (CAEA), the Little Rock Executives Association (LREA), Business Information Enhancement Network (BEIN), the Arkansas Business Alliance, Top 25, as well as several groups sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Other central Arkansas groups include the Faulkner County Executives Association in Conway and the Saline County Executives Association in Benton.
There are many areas in Arkansas that have a population base adequate to support one of more of these business referral groups. Some of those include Arkadelphia, Batesville, Bella Vista, Benton, Bentonville, Blythville, Bryant, Cabot, Camden, Clarksville, Conway, Crossett, El Dorado, Fayetteville, Forrest City, Ft. Smith, Harrison, Heber Springs, Hope, Hot Springs Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Magnolia, Malvern, Maumelle, Monticello, Morrilton, Mountain Home, Newport, North Little Rock, Paragould, Pine Bluff, Pocahontas, Rogers, Russellville, Searcy, Sherwood, Springdale, Stuttgart, Texarkana, Van Buren, West Helena, West Memphis and perhaps several other areas where three or four smaller towns are located really close together.
If you are starting a small business in Arkansas, one of the first things you should consider is joining a BNI chapter. If there is not a BNI chapter in your area, you should give some real consideration to helping start such a chapter.
cold calls Leads club tips club referral organization tips group word of mouth business referrals LeTip BNI referral organizations referral groups referral marketing marketing advertising Word of mouth advertising CAEA Central Arkansas Executives Association LREA Little Rock Executives Association starting a small business in Arkansas
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