Using meetings to promote your business28 September 2008

Most organisations today have an awareness that everything they do will somehow reflect on their business – from the way in which their telephones are answered to how the business presents itself through its corporate literature and/or website. As part of this, most companies, too, understand the importance of staging a successful meeting – whether on-site or out-of-house at dedicated conference facilities or meeting room suites; yet the steps that could be taken to ensure this success will often be largely left to chance.

The advertising world has known about the importance of putting across the right image in meetings for years – and has famously put it to great effect, with great flair. However, without going to the extremes of advertising agency, Allen Brady Marsh (see below), there are a number of ways that companies can radically improve the impression they make at meetings.

Using meetings to make an impact – the advertising way

In the days before the British railway network was broken up into rival parts, it operated as a monopoly. Dogged by poor industrial relations, complacent management, government under-investment, a relaxed attitude to punctuality and a casual indifference to customers, it was decided in 1981 that the railways had an 'image problem'.

British Rail's chairman Sir Peter Parker thought an advertising campaign might do the trick. One of the agencies he invited to tender was Allen Brady Marsh ( ABM). Sir Peter and a posse of BR's top brass duly turned up at ABM for the pitch. They were received by a bored receptionist filing her nails and made to wait in a dingy foyer, strewn with coffee-stained tables and overflowing ashtrays.

After a while she brought them some tepid tea in plastic cups. Minutes ticked by and still nobody came to meet them. Furious at this high-handed treatment, the BR managers were about to storm out when Marsh and his team finally appeared. 'That's how the public sees BR,' said Marsh with a flourish. 'Now let's see what we can do to put it right.' Needless to say, ABM won the business, producing the 'This is the Age of the Train' campaign, starring Jimmy Savile.

Source: www.managementtoday.co.uk

Meeting room checklist?

The choice of meeting venue, not surprisingly, will almost always be the first aspect to be considered, and will speak reams about your business. The key point here – particularly during tougher economic times, when all corporate messages should be carefully thought about - is not simply to choose the most flamboyant option that your budget will allow. Rather, it may be that your organisation is reflected more favourably against a range of different criteria, such as:

Choice of meeting location and ease of accessibility for your business colleagues
The overall level of comfort and atmosphere that the meeting venue presents
The image that the meeting venue presents, and how this reflects back on your organisation… whether glitzy, fun, businesslike, modern or traditional
How the meeting room layout affects the dynamics of the meeting
The standard of equipment, such as LCD, internet access, presentation equipment etc, and how well it works in the meeting room (the mark of which is generally, how unobtrusive it is)
The quality of back-up support staff available at the meeting venue.
Ambient temperature for the number of guests (few things can affect the productiveness and atmosphere of a meeting as much as an over or under-heated meeting room)
The standard of catering (no matter what type of food is required, the standard must always be first-class)

Setting the right tone for your meeting

To help ensure that the right tone is set for each of the above points – which together will convey a range of conscious and unconscious messages about your business - there are just ten simple questions that you need to ask:

What image do I want to present?
Does this meeting venue/room reflect that image?
Will I be comfortable managing my meeting in this venue/room?
Will my business colleague(s) be comfortable, and reach the meeting venue with ease?
What are the three best features of the meeting venue/room?
What are the three worst features of the meeting venue/room?
Can I brand the venue with my organisation’s visual identity?
Can I check in advance the quality of presentation equipment and catering?
How much control will I need to have in the arrangements and on the day?
Are the costs reasonable/justifiable?

And don’t be afraid think creatively. A number of the leading conference venue and serviced office providers such as Executive Offices Group are happy to assist in putting forward ideas for branded or themed meetings, and will work closely with you to ensure that your company is prominently and positively presented throughout. And while demand for unhelpful reception staff, overflowing ashtrays and tepid cups of tea may be rare, there will be countless ways that your corporate image can be positively reinforced during a meeting. It’s just a case of taking the time to think about what will reflect well on you and your business – and taking the steps to ensure that this is fulfilled.

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