Malaysian Firms Prefer Face-To- Face Networking To Attract Customers

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- A majority of the Malaysian companies believes that face-to-face networking will be the key to attracting customers over the next three years, according to research by Regus, a global workspace provider. It said 71 per cent of small businesses believed face-to-face networking to be the top new business technique compared with only 61 per cent of large businesses. In a statement Thursday, Regus said 66 per cent of Malaysian respondents believed that online advertising was one of the top channels to find new customers in the next three years, up from 63 per cent in the previous three. "Attending trade exhibitions (41 per cent) and public speaking at key events (35 per cent) are also regarded as significant tools for future customer recruitment," it said. The Regus research, which surveyed over 16,000 senior business managers across the world, said the traditional advertising, direct marketing and telemarketing only gained a minority vote, and all were in decline. Regus said the the increasing importance of professional social networking sites, such as BranchOut, Viadeo and Xing, stood out in the research by witnessing an increase in user volumes, with LinkedIn having reached over 135 million members, worldwide. Regus unveiled the research when it announced the launch of BusinessLink, a bespoke online trading platform that allows hundreds of thousands of its customers worldwide to buy and sell products and services, and connect with other businesses using the Regus network. -- BERNAMA