5 reasons to mix business with pleasure
In an effort to break down the barriers between businesses and clients, more and more companies are thinking outside the box when it comes to client meetings. From casual dinners to a day spent on the golf course, there are a number of reasons why it can be beneficial to move your meetings away from the confines of your office.
However you decide to spend your time away from the traditional working environment, we’re bringing you 5 reasons why you should be mixing business with pleasure if you want to tighten business-client bonds.
1. Strengthen relationships: Whether you’re an aspiring start-up or a fully fledged business, there’s no doubt you could benefit from mixing up your approach to client meetings. For new businesses, this is a great opportunity to showcase the type of company you want to run, establishing unique relationships with your clients from the get go. If you’re a long-running business that’s always operated formal business-client relationships, now’s the time to change. Widen your horizons when it comes to liaising with current prospects and potential clients, and see your professional relationships flourish.
It’s not just your clients that can benefit from out of office activities. If you’re looking for ways to improve comms across your teams, taking your staff out for a team bonding afternoon, informal dinner or competitive paintballing day will help you all see there’s more to your business than the standard 9-5 routine.
2. Achieve fluidity: No matter the size of your business, the day-to-day operational aspects are essential cogs in the machine that will lead you to success. From the CEO to the admin apprentice, each team member has an important role in your business and it’s essential you bridge the gap between these roles in your quest for success. In busier offices, staff members tend to touch base with the same employees every day. Out of office events mean that you can get together as a group and host an open forum – where each employee can voice their opinion. As well as encouraging varied office relationships, this can create a space where new and interesting ideas can merge together.
3. Inspire creativity: With the same group of employees making all of the big business decisions, it’s easy to run out of steam. You’ll be familiar with the expression ‘two heads are better than one’ – so why not get as many team members as possible in the same place and let the creative juices flow? By bringing together people with different job roles and mindsets, you’ll see how mixing up your approach to running your company can inspire creativity – meaning great things for the future of your business.
4. Move out of the office: The office environment can often stifle creativity rather than inspire it, so getting out of the working space can be a healthy step for all involved. Asking your clients to meet at a restaurant or cafe shows a more laid back approach to doing business and will instantly make them feel more relaxed and at ease – even when it comes to discussing sensitive financial budgets. An enjoyable evening socialising coupled with signing a new contract is a far more positive way to do business than poring over heavy documents for hours in the office.
Small personal tokens can also be a great way to show your clients they mean more to you than just an end of the month invoice. With engraved stationery for their office or personalised wine labels decorating a bespoke gift for your clients to take away, they’ll be talking about your meeting for months to come.
5. Improve job satisfaction: The world of business can be a stressful place – and being able to wind down after a particularly challenging week is crucial. Whether you opt for a team night out once a month or you all head to the pub on a Friday afternoon, it’s essential that your staff see that there’s more to life than the rigid 9-5. Whether you’re taking on a high profile client or struggling to manage the workload with a staff member off sick, it’s important to remember that you’re all in it together and each employee will welcome the support they receive from other members of staff.
In the world of business, it’s all too easy to maintain a 100% professional attitude at all times, but considering your company culture and reevaluating it to suit your team will work wonders for your business.
Remember, your clients are people too. They’ll appreciate getting off the clock and away from the office – helping you both strike a healthy work/life balance.
