Fostering Business Connections

As the owner of SnapRoot Creative Digital Marketing, Corina Locke is no stranger to networking events. Until her business was featured in our new Patrick’s Connect event, though, she said she’d never experienced one that felt like a good fit.

Corina said the clients she personally invited to our debut Connect in September enjoyed the time. Her staff felt acknowledged and appreciated, and SnapRoot got great online and media exposure from the promotions we offered as part of the arrangement.

Held most Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery, Connect allows business owners to invite their staff and colleagues and also get in front of our customers—here in the restaurant and online. The possibilities are endless. One business owner set up her “pop-up” display at her networking event to showcase her products and services; others, like Corina, take the time to walk around and mingle with the patrons and make new acquaintances

“It felt like a really relaxed networking and socializing event that didn’t involve the pressure of bringing your business cards and talking about your business constantly,” says Corina, whose Moultonborough business offers digital marketing services to small businesses. “In a pub environment, it’s much more casual. You meet potential clients and your neighbors, who are other business owners.”

A believer in networking himself, Patrick’s co-owner Allan Beetle imagined Patrick’s Connect, believing the arrangement would benefit local businesses by allowing business owners and their employees to connect with the community, putting faces to the logos residents see around town.

“We wanted to create a new opportunity for business owners to raise their brand awareness and meet new people in the Lakes Region,” Allan says.

Corina says the opportunity is indeed a great one for area entrepreneurs.

“I had some really cool conversations with customers, just getting to know the people who live in the area,” Corina says. “The reward of making good connections was priceless.”

Businesses who take part in Connect receive many networking boosts, including 25 coupons for a complimentary beverage, which can be handed to clients and prospects in advance as an invitation to attend. We also then feature each week’s business owner on our social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, etc.—and we do the work of sending a press release to the media to bring additional exposure. We’ve also recently launched a partnership with local radio station WEMJ and the Laconia Daily Sun to provide radio and print ads at no extra cost.

In her work, Corina oversees our online presence, so she well understands the importance of online marketing. She very much appreciated posts about her Connect event on our Facebook page; they put her business in front of roughly 8,000 Patrick’s “friends.”

Roberta Coffey, owner of Corporate Images LLC, another business that was featured during a recent Patrick’s Connect event, agrees it was a great opportunity to gain visibility while showing off her selection of corporate apparel and promotional products. For Roberta, the opportunity was less about gaining business and more about having community members see what Corporate Images is about.

“I can ship samples to potential clients, but a lot of people really don’t know what I do,” Roberta explains. “This was a way for me to set up a booth, display our work, and have a representative there. It’s like getting a look behind the scenes of Corporate Images; that’s what it’s all about.”

In addition to Corina, SnapRoot’s creative director and principal, the business is supported by Alice Field, office manager and content creations account manager; Cortney MacNeil, director of digital media; and Sheila Farricy, associate of digital media.

Corina invited them to her Connect event and then treated them to dinner after networking. In this way, it was also a team-building event; her staff enjoyed the live acoustic music that follows each Patrick’s Connect event.

“It played out as a thank you to my team, from me to them,” she says. “It was a good bonding experience. I recommend Connect! Business owners can raise brand awareness, showing the community what their products and services are, while really connecting with residents. You get to know what people are looking for in your business.”

For more information on Patrick’s Connect, or to register your business as a featured business, call 293-0841 or visit www.patrickspub.com/connect.

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