Networking groups have helped local businesses grow through relationships and referrals for decades.
And for good reason.
People do business with people they know, like, and trust. When local business owners meet regularly, learn about each other's businesses, share experiences and make introductions, real relationships form.
WhirLocal believes in that model too.
In fact, the idea behind the WhirLocal Trust Network™ isn't to replace networking groups at all.
It's to help make the trust being built through networking, business relationships and community involvement more visible beyond the people in the room.
Networking Groups Are Built Around Relationships
Whether it's a formal referral organization, a chamber networking group, an industry group or an informal gathering of local business owners, the basic idea is similar.
Get to know people.
Learn who they are and what they do.
Build trust over time.
Refer people when the opportunity comes up.
Some groups are highly structured. Others are casual. Some meet every week, while others meet once a month.
But when they're working well, relationships are at the center.
That's something we strongly believe in at WhirLocal.
The Challenge: Most of That Trust Stays in the Room
Imagine you're sitting at a networking meeting with 25 other local business owners.
Someone says:
"I want to give a shoutout to my electrician. They helped one of my clients last week and did a fantastic job."
That's valuable.
Everyone in the room just learned something about that electrician.
But what happens after the meeting?
Usually, the recommendation stays with the people who heard it.
The same thing happens every day outside of networking groups.
A Realtor has a list of contractors they recommend.
A business owner has an accountant they trust.
A property manager knows a great plumber.
A local nonprofit has businesses it loves working with.
A neighbor knows exactly who they'd call when they need their car repaired.
These relationships already exist.
WhirLocal simply gives them somewhere to live.
Making Offline Trust Visible Online
A WhirLocal Trust Network™ allows a local business to publicly show two sides of its relationships:
Who We Trust shows the businesses and organizations they recommend.
Who Trusts Us shows the businesses, organizations and neighbors who have chosen to trust them.
Instead of those relationships existing only in conversations, contact lists or networking meetings, they become visible.
And importantly, people don't need to belong to the same networking group to see them.
They don't even need to know what WhirLocal is.
A business can share its WhirLocal Trust Network™ directly, and eligible plans can display the network on the business's own website. A WhirLocal Trust Card™ can also show visitors how many businesses and neighbors trust that business and link them to the full network.
That makes trust more public, shareable and portable.
Networking Groups and WhirLocal Solve Different Problems
This is why we don't see WhirLocal as a replacement for networking groups.
Networking groups help create and strengthen relationships through interaction, conversation and time together.
WhirLocal helps businesses organize, display and share those trust relationships with a much larger audience.
In fact, the two can work extremely well together.
If you meet a great local business through a networking group and genuinely trust them, add them to your WhirLocal Trust Network™.
If someone in your group consistently refers you, they can publicly show that trust.
If you give another member a shoutout during a meeting, that recommendation doesn't have to disappear when everyone leaves the room.
The relationship can become part of something lasting.
Your Network Can Be Bigger Than Any One Group
There's another important difference.
Most networking groups naturally have boundaries. That's part of what makes them work.
They may be organized by chapter, membership, geography, profession or industry. Some may limit the number of businesses within a particular category.
Your real-world trust relationships probably aren't that neatly organized.
You may know a great Realtor from one group, an electrician from another, an accountant through your chamber, a landscaper from church and a photographer you've worked with for 15 years.
They're all part of your real network.
WhirLocal gives you a place to bring those relationships together.
Not someone else's list. Your list.
Your WhirLocal Trust Network™ can reflect the people and businesses you actually trust, regardless of where those relationships began.
And You Don't Have to Stop Networking
Quite the opposite.
Go to the networking meeting.
Join your chamber.
Participate in your professional association.
Have coffee with another local business owner.
Introduce two people who should know each other.
Give the shoutout.
Make the referral.
Those human relationships matter more than ever.
WhirLocal simply helps make some of that trust visible online, where it can continue working long after the meeting is over.
The Bottom Line
Networking groups and WhirLocal aren't trying to accomplish the same thing.
Networking groups create environments where relationships can grow.
WhirLocal helps turn existing trust relationships into a public resource that businesses, neighbors and the broader community can see and share.
One happens primarily through people spending time together.
The other helps make the trust that comes from those relationships more visible.
And we think there's a lot of value in both.
Because the best local networks aren't built by algorithms.
They're built by people.
WhirLocal just helps more people see them.
About this comparison:
This article is intended to help readers understand the differences between WhirLocal and other platforms and approaches. Information about third-party products and features is based on publicly available information at the time of publication and may change. All trademarks and brand names belong to their respective owners. WhirLocal is not affiliated with or endorsed by the companies or organizations mentioned unless otherwise stated.