Phone and Face to Face Still Best Networking Tools
Online social networks
are fast becoming an important part of
business, but new results show they are
still not a replacement for the traditional
skills of talking to clients on the phone or
face to face meetings.
Online networking
allows you to meet people quickly and
conveniently; and is a growing form of
networking (particular for under 30’s), but
research from Vodafone UK has found that
although its use is declining (again mainly
for under 30’s),, the telephone is still the
most dominant networking tool in the UK,
used by 59%.
The most popular
meeting places were ‘top’ restaurants (47%),
where clients would expect to be treated to
lunch; drinks at a private members club
(26%), pubs were popular for almost a third
of people, whilst more than ten percent
prefer to meet on the golf course.
Perhaps more importantly; one in five
managing directors would not do business
with anyone they hadn’t met face to face,
over a quarter would refuse business to
anyone they hadn’t at least spoken to over
the phone and only a third have successfully
managed to secure business using email
alone.
Kyle Whitehill, Director of Enterprise,
Vodafone UK commented: “Online networking is
a huge phenomenon and one that will no doubt
have an impact on some of the ways business
communicate and market themselves. When it
comes to the basics of winning and keeping
business, however, embracing all the various
networking options may strike a better
balance for business success.”
Other findings of the survey included:
-
Business is most likely to be won from a
face to face meeting (57%) than any
other route, dropping to just 34% of
businesspeople who have won business by
email.
-
Just one in ten businesspeople use
networking websites to do business (although
this is growing, especially with younger
entrepreneurs) and less than a quarter are
aware of a networking community specific to
their industry.
-
Traditional networking tactics – from
the golf course to business lunches are
still thriving across the nation. London
and Southampton are the lunching
capitals of corporate Britain, while
Scotland is the place to tee-off for
business (Scots are twice as likely to
do business over a round of golf).
-
Face to face is the top priority with
the biggest clients – typically UK
business people spend 59mins a week (in
excess of one working week annually) in
‘face-time’ with a top client, ahead of
any other form of communication.
Our article on How
Online Networking can Benefit Your Business
is coming soon to BizHelp24.
Our article on Communicating at Networking
Events is available here.
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