The personal touch remains the best way to grow a business

Social networking may be fine but good old person-to-person contacts are even better.

A survey by global workspace provider Regus revealed that 67% of Hong Kong firms believe face-to-face networking remains the best way to locate new customers over the next two to three years.

More than half (54%) of Hong Kong businesses see online advertising as a better way to expand their market reach compared to social media, which is favored by mainlanders.

In Hong Kong, hiring well-connected sales people (36%); participating in trade exhibitions (38%) and public speaking at key events (32%) are regarded as significant tools for future customer recruitment.

The Regus survey involved over 16,000 senior business managers around the world.

Despite their preference for personal networking, 6% fewer respondents from Hong Kong think this will be true over the next two to three years compared to the last two to three years. Regus said this probably reflects a recognition that methods for generating business are evolving.

The survey also showed that “professional social networking” such as that promoted by LinkedIn is steadily growing in popularity because of its perceived usefulness. LinkedIn now has more than 135 million members worldwide

Other research findings:

• Globally, 71% of small businesses believe that face-to-face networking will be key to recruiting customers over the next three years, compared to only 61% of large businesses.
• 51% of global respondents saw online advertising as one of the top ways to find new customers in the next three years, up from 42% in the previous three.
• Traditional advertising, direct marketing and telemarketing are all in decline.

The rise and rise of business social media networks mean that today they are as essential for finding new customers as face-to-face interaction," said Andre Sharpe, Global Director of Product and Business Development at Regus.