The clients are coming! The clients are coming! posted by Karen Sparks
Last week, an important San Diego client (yes, of course, all of our clients are important) stepped out of their environment and into ours for a full-day meeting. I love this. I think this is huge. I want all of our clients to do this on some kind of regular basis.
It's great for us as an agency because it forces us to clean up our space. Papers get filed (why is there a dog bone in my filing cabinet?). Dishes get put away. Someone actually tosses the old stuff in the fridge.
Possibly of greater importance is the fact that it's monumental for our clients because it removes them from their day-to-day routine and inspires fresh thinking. Nothing says "think big" like a whole wall of clean, white "Idea Paint" waiting to be scribbled on. Even better is when you can encourage clients to put their laptops and iPhones (or Droid if you are Yared) away and truly focus on the task at hand without distraction. Creative thinking, consensus building, and enthusiasm for what comes next is usually the outcome.
A few key elements are required for a successful off-site meeting.
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Commitment to actively participate
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A clear goal and agreed-upon deliverable from the event (Is this a big-picture brand discussion or is it about tactical planning? What is the ideal outcome?)
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At least a rough agenda to drive discussion forward and a participant willing to play "time cop" and refocus energy when necessary
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Regularly scheduled breaks for caffeine and checking voicemails/emails, and bio breaks.
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An open mind
As was demonstrated after a six-hour session, all parties were completely brain dead and had little more to offer besides an analysis of the snack "Pirate's Booty" and the fact that it is tastier than one might anticipate. In the following days when notes were gathered, wall scribbles were interpreted, and information was digested, the tangible outcome was something special. We look forward to showing you the outcome of this particular session when it launches.
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