By Icho Saito
The Hoffman Agency, Japan
Taipei is a lovely city! From their ma-la (spicy) hotpot which piques your appetite even in the summer heat, to the ready-to-serve fresh fruit stalls stationed at every few blocks to quench your thirst.
For the past few months, our team has been working on various projects in order to prepare our client for Computex 2013 in Taipei. At the beginning of June, we finally flew out to the city in order to attend the event as well as meet the team whom we had been working with so closely. For some, it was the first time meeting the client face-to-face.
Although we communicated frequently with each other on Skype and through video and teleconferences, this face-to-face meeting in Taipei brought more than what we expected in terms of communicating each other’s thoughts, deepening understanding and team bonding.
The experience reminded me that with innovative technologies, media and client relations can be easily conducted through a video conference or a call. Interviews via email have become very common, especially in the West.
Coming from Japan, I see a lot of Japanese business people, media and clients who still see the importance of meeting in person. And of course, there are benefits to such meetings as well:
– Receiving direct responses that help speed up the business process
– Receiving more information and detailed information. As distinguished professor of psychology Albert Mehrabian says, non-verbal communication tells 93 percent of the story. A firm handshake always has the power to build trust.
– And catching the person’s full attention for a block of time
With emails/texts flying in every minute, a face-to-face meeting can be much more efficient and even refreshing. It allows people to focus on getting things done and getting away from all of the noise.
It is definitely worth taking the time to visit the person whom you want to build a relationship with, whether a client or a media contact.
