Over 40% of small and medium-sized business owners are missing out on valuable business insights by not tapping into the knowledge of their customers, according to research commissioned by the Royal Mail.

The data also reveals that over the past three years, 51% of businesses experiencing falling turnover and more than half of firms experiencing falling employment did not seek advice from customers.

Of those SMEs who do seek customer views and feedback, 65% said their advice was important or even crucial, ranking it as the advice source that has the most business impact.

The study suggests that the UK's small and medium sized businesses could accelerate their growth potential by nearly four times by making better use of available advice and support services, in particular by tapping into valuable informal networks.

The study also revealed:

• Not making the most of the advice on their doorstep - despite having the greatest impact on a business's operational efficiency, 33% and 53% of businesses respectively are failing to make use of invaluable insights available from accountants and suppliers
• Accelerated turnover growth - small businesses using business associates are twice as likely to have turnover growth compared to those that did not. In addition, those businesses using consultants are 3.6 times more likely to have growth in their turnover compared to those who do not
• Enhanced employment growth - accessing advice and support significantly improves employment growth. Businesses heeding advice from accountants for example are 2.6 times as likely to grow compared with those that don't
• The neediest are at risk of missing out - almost a third more experienced entrepreneurs are using available services compared with novice owner managers - the very ones who need it most

"Small and medium sized businesses are engines of growth and they can really increase their performance and chances of success by tapping into the knowledge of others," said Tim Rivett, Head of Small Business at Royal Mail.

"A problem shared really is a problem halved, if not solved, and valuable advice from a range of formal and informal sources is available to help them grow."