Q. What is Business Match all about?
A. Business Match is based on the concept of "business-dating". It’s designed to connect businesses to opportunities matching their skills and services.
Q. What's in it for me?
A. Access to new business opportunities and potential partnerships. As connections on Business Match are based on mutual needs, it’s like getting to step into the right doors. Business Match provides just the introductions though, and you decide if and how you develop the business relationships from then on.
Q. Does "business- dating" online really work?
A. We think so and hope you’ll find for yourself that it does too... Whilst the website is the result of a lot of thought and development, it is you as users of the website, who will make business happen by generating and responding to connections.
Q. I like meeting people face to face. Why should I look for businesses online?
A. Business Match isn’t meant to replace face-to-face meetings and networking. But there’s only so much time available and you can’t be everywhere you might like to be all the time. Making connections online means that you can maximise potential opportunities because you’ll know they suit your business.
It’s also good to find out a little about potential clients before meeting up by looking at their profile, so that you can be more intuitive in meeting their requirements.
Q. What are the chances of finding new business opportunities on Business Match?
A. Like everything in business, it’s down to how much you put into it. The more information you give on your profile, trusted associates you add, connections you follow up, the more opportunities will come your way.
Q. What is the difference between "Make a Connection" and "Find a Business"?
A. Make a Connection is a search for business opportunities:
Subscribers post Connections describing their current business requirements. You can search these on "make a connection" or set up Alerts on your profile, and we’ll match you to the best opportunities for your business and email them to you whenever they appear.
What it means:
You are a: What kind of opportunities are you looking for?
Seeking: What skills/services do you provide?
Within: How far do you want to travel/distance you work within?
Postcode: Your business location postcode
Find a business is a search for companies listed on the website, a directory:
What it means:
You want a: What kind of business relationship are you looking for?
Providing: What skills/services does your business require?
Within: How far are you prepared to travel/distance companies are based from you?
Postcode: Your business location postcode
Use Advanced Search to:
Find a business by name
Find a business by minimum number of recommendations (not available until full launch)
Find a business by minimum Business Match ratings (not available until full launch)
Q. Ok, let’s give it a go! How do I join?
A. Click on the "Join Free" button on the home page.
You can add all your details in one go, or just the basics and come back to finish later if you’re short on time. Please do fill in all the information though, as it will increase your chances of businesses contacting you if your profile is complete.
We recommend you add a photo (head and shoulders shot is best) as experience tells us that most people naturally prefer to see what others look like. It also helps for when you arrange a follow-up meeting!
Q. How much does it cost?
A. At the moment it’s completely free. Like any new business, we know you’ll want to try us out, and are confident that when we do go fully live later this year, you’ll want to stay and won’t mind paying a modest subscription fee.
By signing up for the beta site now however, you’ll qualify for 3 months free trial from launch, so why wait? Give us a try...
Q. I just want to search for businesses. Why should I create a profile?
A. You can search for businesses without creating a profile, but if you to contact anyone you’ll need to register. The website is based on mutually beneficial connections, and that’s just not possible if only one party has information and the other doesn’t.
Q. How do I update or edit my profile after it's been posted?
A. You can edit/delete your profile whenever you are logged onto the website. You can also add more than one profile if you have more than one business or different skills and services you want to promote. Now’s the time to do it as it’s free!
Q. How do I change my username, password or email address?
A. Your email is your username, and you can change this, and your password by logging into My Business Match and Edit Profile Profile
Q. My business fits into more than one Service Category but I can only choose one?
A. You can choose only one Service Category per profile to allow for accurate matching, but you are welcome to create additional profiles if your company fits into more than one of the Service Categories.
Q. How do I ensure I only receive relevant emails?
A. When creating your profile, you select the services you provide and the reasons you want to be contacted by setting up your Alerts. You will only receive emails matching this criteriA. If you find you aren’t receiving the right kind of enquiries, just edit your profile so that you do.
Q. How can I be sure I won’t receive lots of SPAM email?
A. Restrictions have been put in place so that only 5 emails (shortlists) can be sent at any one time. It’s true that if someone is really dedicated to the cause, they could spend many hours sending 5 messages at a time and it that happens, well let’s hope the spammers get a life sometime soon! To be serious about it though, we’ll be keeping an eye our end and we’d like you please, our customers, to let us know about any abuse of the website too.
Feedback
If you have any questions or suggestions about Business Match, please contact us at feedback@business-match.co.uk. We welcome hearing from you.