04 Dec 2008

Face-to-face appointments here to stay, expert says

Companies should not neglect the importance of meeting clients face-to-face, an expert said.

Brad Burton, managing director of 4Networking, argued that for new businesses especially, appointments are a vital method of informing new people about their products and services.

His comments come as software-as-a-service providers are introducing new programmes that help companies to manage their meetings and business activities as part of unified communications set ups.

Mr Burton agreed that networking and appointments are particularly important in the current economic climate.

Many people could lose their businesses as a result of the credit crunch, but those which use their marketing skills effectively will survive, he suggested.

"Face-to-face appointments will be here to stay," Mr Burton said.

"Ten minutes face-to-face with someone is enough to establish if there is common ground or not," he added.

Too many restrictions on employees' use of social networking can have an adverse effect on an organisation's long-term network capital, according to research published by Demos in October.