Is business travel still important?

With an increasingly joined-up world of digital communications, is business travel still important?

While there are convenient, advanced video-conferencing and communications applications such as Skype for Business and Zoom, they are still a form of remote working.

Business is about people and, people do business with other people they like, trust and value.

To build these relationships, there is no substitute for real human interaction, which is why business travel, as an enabler of this, is still important.

Deals and Decisions in Person

People want to put a name to a face where a business deal is involved. Similarly, important decision-making often requires the reassurance of having someone actually in the room.

Research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology indicates that asking for help, or looking for co-operation, gets a far more positive response in person than online, via email.

Many leading companies will not sign a contract without company leaders meeting face to face.

You can derive a lot of unspoken information from someone’s body language, for example, making face to face a superior medium of communication.

Human interaction helps build valuable foundations for future business relationships, and bolsters existing relationships.

Communication skills can help people negotiate difficult terms, and see where they have common ground with others.

Leadership and Opportunity

One of the most vital qualities a successful leader in business must have is the ability to inspire others, including colleagues and clients.

An effective means of doing this is by having good visibility and not simply relying on remote communication.

Consequently, leaders who regularly make the effort to be with other people in person, are likely to develop a more impactful style of leadership.

Another benefit of meeting people face to face is opportunity.

Being away from the desk offers a greater degree of freedom in terms of interacting with others, and the opportunity to strike up new, potentially valuable business relationships.

You cannot network as effectively remotely or digitally as you can in person.

Again, this is about the personal aspect of relationship-building, and of reading how others respond close up.

How Business Travel Enables Better Communication

Business travel drives face to face business communication, often literally.

Executive car services, whether business class or chauffeur class, help individuals connect meaningfully, providing the critical infrastructure links that are not covered by air or rail.

These services are also vital because they operate fully in context – they are specially tailored to meet the demands of busy and complex itineraries.

Moreover, just as the mechanics of business travel are important in facilitating face to face business meetings, so the travel experience itself supports this kind of interaction.

By ensuring the traveller reaches their destination in as stress-free, comfortable and business-friendly a means as possible, this helps with their focus and performance when it comes to meeting others.

Maximising Business Travel to Minimise Hassle

Specialising in executive car services, Driven Worldwide provides essential, expert business support in getting people to where they need to be, taking care of itineraries, connections and the comfort of its clients.

For more information, please complete our online contact form and we will be in touch as soon as possible.