Response Magazine - December 2008

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When it comes to marketing a small business, one might argue that the most valuable resource for an effective and efficient business is networking. That’s why, on June 24, the Visa Business Network (VBN), a division of Visa Inc. — the world’s largest retail electronic payments network — joined the powerful direct response channel of the online social community by launching a Facebook application. Dedicated to helping small businesses to succeed, it was the first application of its kind on Facebook. While most of the other 20,000 applications in creation are geared towards consumers, this one is the first dedicated solely to connecting small business owners.

“Applications are the fuel that drives the phenomenon that is Facebook,” says Alex Craddock, the head of small business marketing at Visa. “It allows small businesses to connect.”

Today, most of offline networking is done locally within communities. “But there can be real value in a coffee shop in New York talking with a coffee shop in Los Angeles,” says Craddock. “They can compare information, such as: who are your suppliers; what are you paying your staff; what are your operating costs — and this can help you manage more efficiently.”

Back when Visa was conjuring up the idea of the application, the Visa marketing team wanted to create a place where businesses could support each other and learn from each other’s best practices. So Visa turned to the world of online social communities for help.

“Small businesses succeed by connecting with other small businesses, so we’re helping them grow

through networking, and helping them manage more efficiently through networking and a resource center with useful applications, advice and tools. When we launched the VBN, we knew it was still in the early stages of social media for small businesses, but all the research we did with small businesses indicated we were potentially on to something big in terms of how Visa could help them succeed by helping them tap the value of social networking,” Craddock says.

Features of the VBN application, which can be downloaded onto a personal Facebook profile, include a Business Finder, which allows a user to search for a company based on type, location, size, etc.; an idea exchange center that allows users to chat with other owners; and a research center that includes tools from Google, experts at The Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur.