Companies that adopt an online-only approach to winning customers and maintaining relationships are in danger of missing out to those who mix these newer methods with more traditional means.

According to research by Vodafone, the favoured methods of conducting business are lunch at a top restaurant (cited by 47% of the 1,100 business owners) or drinks at a private members’ club (26%), while almost a third of those questioned would be happy with a drink in the pub and over one in 10 with a game of golf.

In terms of office communication, the telephone remains the preferred tool with 59% choosing to use it to network but there are signs that younger staff or entrepreneurs are rejecting this in favour of online networking.

Phone usage drops by almost a third to 30% when the pool was restricted to those under 40, while almost half of entrepreneurs in the 20s said they preferred to conduct all communication by email or using online networking sites.

“Online networking is a huge phenomenon and one that will no doubt have an impact on some the ways business communicate and market themselves,” said Kyle Whitehill, director of enterprise at Vodafone UK.

“When it comes to the basics of winning and keeping business, however, embracing all the various networking options may strike a better balance for business success.”

Failing to conduct telephone or face-to-face meetings can have a direct effect on business performance, the survey suggested. One in five managing directors said they would not do business with anyone they hadn’t met in person, over a quarter would refuse business to someone they hadn’t at least spoken with on the phone, while just one in three have done business through nothing more than email.

“Modern day communication tools have an invaluable role to play in business, but you can’t replace the trust and understanding that comes from a face-to-face meeting,” agreed Sahar Hashemi, the founder of Coffee Republic.

“It’s important to keep an open mind to new ideas but always remember there is a time to close down the internet, get out there, look the client in the eye and remember how to do business the way that works in the real world.”