by Joanna Pineda Posted on March 19, 2009
I tell my staff (especially Project Managers) to jump at any chance to share a meal with a client, vendor or partner. Why? Because I’m convinced that once you’ve shared a meal with someone, it’s a lot harder for them to demonize you, blow you off, ignore your calls and e-mails, or fire you for a small mistake.
A meal, however, is simply a metaphor for creating, nurturing and maintaining a relationship. The relationship is what matters. A meal is one really great, fun way to establish or further a relationship. Face to face meetings and social events are others. Can social networking help you nurture your relationships? Here’s how.
- A really great blog lets you connect with your staff, customers, members. A blog lets you share your perspectives, talk about what’s important to you or your field, speak more conversationally about a highly technical or complicated topic.
- An authentic social networking strategy lets you share aspects of your organization’s culture and values. So don’t just tweet about your press releases! Share tips and tricks through a video, tweet about Web sites that move you, and upload photos of your staff in action.
How about you? How are you using social networking to support your relationship goals?
Related Articles
AI Note-Taking Part 2: Lessons from Five Months of Testing and Refining Posted on May 1, 2025 A few months ago, we shared how Matrix Group chose Fathom as our AI-powered note-taking app after testing multiple options. It was an exciting step in our AI journey—one that promised to make note taking more accurate and efficient, ensuring that key takeaways didn’t get lost in the shuffle. But as we started using Fathom more regularly, we ran into some...
How We Closed Our Office Sustainably — and Made a Lot of People Happy Posted on April 22, 2025 In honor of Earth Day, I want to share a story about our recent office closing at Matrix Group, and how we tried to do it in the most sustainable, community-minded way possible. Closing our Arlington, VA office was a bittersweet milestone. After years of working fully remotely and knowing that remote work was here to stay for us, it didn’t...
Work 5.0 and the Future of Work at Matrix Group Posted on April 17, 2025 On Monday, March 31st, Matrix Group said goodbye to our office on the 3rd floor of 2611 South Clark Street in Crystal City. We moved into this space in July 2019, a mere nine months before the pandemic began. This new office was light-filled, full of collaborative spaces, decorated with purple splashes and Star Wars toys, and full of the latest...
2 replies on “The Power of the Relationship”
There’s a good book ” Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time”. Great advice when you’re traveling. Establishing relationships remain key to long-term partnerships.
But in today’s economic climate, with travel budgets slashed to a bare minimum, use of (online) social networking applications provide a means to maintain those relationships at a much lower cost. The role of social media in customer relationship development has grown in significance; provides a more personal connection. promotes engagement, increases interaction and fast becoming the preferred means of communications.
Patricia, you are right on! I could not have said it better!