Networking tools are broken and we are fixing them
We have had those questions A LOT. “Why do you say that business networking tools are broken? I met great people at the last event I attended!” or “How are you different from other networking apps or services like LinkedIn?” The short answer is that users allocate some time to business networking and we want them to get the most of it.
Business Networking Tools are Broken
That’s a strong statement. Let’s separate into Online and Offline tools.
Online Meeting Tools Are Just Not Good Enough
We call online Business Networking tools to any website or app that tries to connect two or more individuals from a business perspective. A few examples would be Weave, Treatings, and of course LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the most famous and the most used online Business Networking tool, so let’s start with this one. LinkedIn brands itself as “the largest professional network” which is true. They have a lot of users and it’s getting harder these days to find someone without a LinkedIn profile. For us, LinkedIn is a “portfolio for non-creatives people”, meaning that it is a way to showcase your experience. Have you ever tried to connect on LinkedIn with someone who is neither a colleague, a classmate, or a friend? It’s not that easy. Have you ever tried to send a few “InMails” if you don’t have a Premium account? There are a lot of limitations. Finally, and most importantly, have you ever met someone in person after connecting only through LinkedIn? You see where this is going right?!
LinkedIn is great to manage your online professional presence but is not the best to meet new professionals and grow your network.
Other apps such as Weave, Treatings and may others, are trying to solve that problem. And a lot of them use a Tinder-like user interface. Would you look at a professional the same way you look at your next date? That’s the first problem. These apps make you decide if someone is interesting to you by swiping left and right, encouraging you to decide in less than a second. Then, if there is a “match”, they open a chat between you two. That’s great, but that’s definitely not enough!
What are your goals when it comes to networking?
“Meet new and interesting professionals that you would be able to help, and who will be able to help you in return”. “Foster mutually beneficial relationships”. “Enhance your career or your business”. Not just chat with someone through a cold and tasteless messaging app.
So as we just saw, online Business Networking tools have some good points but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Offline Meeting Tools are Not Efficient Enough
We call offline Business Networking tools to any group that engages in offline activities for business purposes. Those activities are often built online, but the action takes place offline.
Networking events are the sinews of war when it comes to Business Networking. They are a great opportunity to mingle and meet interesting people, we won’t deny that! The problem here is that they are like a lottery, you never know what you’ll get out of them, but it requires a huge involvement from you! You can never be sure if you are attending the right event, going to meet the right person or getting anything out of it.
On top of that, this kind of event can be quite frightening for some people. You have to go into a crowded room where you don’t know most of the attendees and you have to talk to people like it was your job. Not that easy.
Last but not least, Business Networking events are not always free. There is a problem if you have to pay for something upfront without any certainty that it will help you.
This brings us to Smartcasual, our Business Networking app. How are we different from these tools and how are we trying to fix them? Read on!
The fix
So we explained why Business Networking tools are broken. But how can we fix them?
Hybrid between Online Meeting and Offline Meeting Tools
With Smartcasual, we provide you the right tool to meet interesting professionals around you without hassle. We bring you from our app to a real meeting, in real life, with a real professional, and in no time! Business Networking requires your involvement, though, you need to engage your time, but we are cutting the chase and getting you to that next meeting effortlessly.
That’s why we do not use a Tinder-like interface, and that’s why we ask you to input your availability in the app. We are actually telling you: “Hey, let us know when and where it would be the most convenient time for you to meet a great professional, and we’ll do the rest!”.
We use LinkedIn to display part of your professional experience, and we let you either post your availabilities or browse through other users’ availabilities.
From there, either you wait for someone to request a meeting with you, or you request to meet someone with a relevant experience!
Messaging, and much more
The time you set aside for your networking might change, which is why we added messaging too.
You can inform the other professional in case you are running late or need to reschedule. But the messaging features is just that. We want you to use the app, discover interesting people and quit the app and go out there and meet them in real life!
Find out more
If you want to know more about Smartcasual, you can read our post, Discover Smartcasual and Enhance Your Networking Efforts, where we explain how the app works
If you want to try it before it is officially live, you can subscribe with the form below and we’ll send you the invitation for our beta version!
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Download our professional networking app now, and Happy Networking!
Originally published at blog.smartcasual.co on June 18, 2015.
