Business owners prefer the personal when it comes to securing new business contracts, according to a survey.
The survey, by PR consultancy Vada Media, reveals that 94 per cent of firms prefer word-of-mouth referrals when it comes to looking for new clients.
The second most popular technique proved to be informal networking with 88 per cent of bosses finding it successful.
Other popular means of finding new clients were through the internet, professional bodies and facilitated networking.
Far less popular approaches included email approaches, cited by 31 per cent of businesses and cold calling, preferred least by owners
Steve Bustin at Veda Media, said: “The results prove that the best way to find those all important new clients is to canvass current clients and do a lot of networking.
“So get out there and meet people. As the research shows, there’s no substitute for talking to people face to face.”