An overseas client visiting your business can be a fantastic opportunity for building relationships – or an absolute disaster just waiting to happen. If the person in charge of entertaining the guests is unprepared, he or she may easily wind up boring or even offending them. Needless to say, experiences like that don’t encourage future business. Here are a few tips for avoiding this sort of catastrophe and showing your clients a memorable, fun and culturally correct good time.
Study Cultural Differences
All cultures have different superstitions, beliefs, and taboos, and people who don’t learn about them beforehand run the risk of deeply offending their guests. For example, if you’re entertaining a group of Chinese men and you’re considering giving them some of your promotional products, don’t give them green hats – it’ll be the equivalent of saying their wives cheated on them and telling them to show the world their shame! Similarly, it’s almost too painful to imagine trying to recover from taking a group of Hindus to a steakhouse or greeting an Arab by offering to shake with your left hand. Make sure you know what will offend your guests to prevent causing this sort of damage to your business relationship.
If you can also find the sort of things that are considered good luck by large portions of your client’s culture. Many Chinese visitors will be happy to see that the room they’re staying in was designed with the basic principles of good Feng Shui in mind, and few Japanese guests would turn down a gift of a thousand paper cranes! This sort of gesture is often greatly appreciated. However, that doesn’t mean you should try to make them feel like they’re still at home. Instead…
Focus on the Exotic
If your clients have come from overseas, most of them are going to want to experience being far from home. They want to see strange things, try new foods, and do things that will make for good stories that they can tell their friends and family. If you’re in Sydney, they’re almost certainly going to want to visit the Sydney Opera House. People visiting Melbourne will love to visit the Queen Victoria Market, especially once you tell them it’s the largest open-air market on the southern half of the globe. Show off the local foods and sights that make your home unique. Finally, if you have a high budget, lots of time and adventurous guests, it might be worth taking them out to the Great Barrier Reef or into the Outback – with a professional guide, of course!
Whatever you do, don’t try to mimic what they have at home by doing things like taking them to Australianized versions of restaurants from their home country or the like. They’re in a different world, and they want to see a different world. Cater to that desire and you won’t regret it.
Give Them Something to Remember You By
Everyone loves souvenirs, especially if they’re strange and attractive. Handmade local knickknacks are great choices. Another excellent option is to give your guests branded products that they don’t use in their home country, such as (in many cases) stubby holders. Be sure to explain what it’s for and to demonstrate its use. Many people will get a kick out of little things like this and display them proudly at home or in their office. There, your logo will be seen frequently, and your guest will remember the great time they had visiting you. And when someone asks about it, you can count on them hearing all about your fantastic company.
Respect your clients’ customs, treat them to everything exotic about your home, and make sure they have a way to remember you. If you do this, entertaining should be fun and easy, and your business relationships will only improve.