In a recent article by the British Business Group, John Martin St. Valery, Chairman at the British Business Group shares his predictions.
The British Business Group provides opportunities for its membership and international business community stakeholders to network throughout the year. The BGG pride itself on the content and quality of the business briefings they deliver each month and work hard to create networking events which are useful for anyone that attends.
Last Summer, the BGG shared its observations around the spike in attendance that it saw during the summer months, which are historically quieter given so many expats depart to cooler climates. Many would confess to believing that business slows down in these months but they experienced a real change in delegate behaviour, with event attendance rising to three times what we would usually expect. The BGG have already seen the same pattern for this year, with a higher than usual interest and registration for the events they have held this month! Their first event for the year was a workshop “How to Economy-Proof Your Business in 2020” and the attendance was well above what they usually expect for a business briefing, with people coming on the day as walk-ins! In the same week, The BGG hosted a joint networking event with SABCO (the South African Business Council) with over 70 people attending to meet with peers across a range of industries in a speed networking format – a great way of ensuring that everyone speaks throughout the evening.
Engaging with their members at these events and through their membership survey, they have had a real insight to the intensity of preparation for a busy year ahead with Q1 schedules crammed with activity to support ambitious business development goals for 2020. The BGG will of course see the level of information around Expo 2020 pick up too with many opportunities available to businesses here in the region to support this huge international event. It’s the BBG’s aim to be at the forefront for sharing Expo updates and identifying opportunities for their members throughout its lifecycle.
“Networking is a business and personal marketing tool that is integral to the life blood of our overall business and marketing strategy.” said John Martin St. Valery, Chairman of the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates, “Whilst it can be viewed as a time-consuming activity, networking should be viewed as a dynamic channel to find future business opportunities rather than immediate results”.
“At the BBG, our aim is to provide our members with greater access to market information and to provide opportunities to learn best practice across industries. Our networking series, free to attend for BBG members, is wonderfully unpredictable and because of its open invitation element, every event attracts a different mix of industries. As a delegate of our member networking events throughout the year, you will experience peer to peer sharing of marketing insight and trends across industries in an informal setting in a number of vibrant locations across Dubai” said Katy Holmes, Marketing Manager of the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates.
If you would like to attend any of the BBG’s networking events, please email booking@bbgdxb.com or visit the events schedule here: http://bbgdubai.org/events. The BBG also publish its events in their weekly e-newsletter and if you aren’t already receiving this then please visit the page to subscribe: http://bbgdubai.org/news/subscribe-newsletter