The report, unsurprisingly by an Internet telephone company called Vonage, found the phone just pipped e-mail at the post, with 40% of firms opting to dial and 37% choosing to type.

It may be good to talk, but small businesses are still facing landline bills of up to £300 a month and mobile costs of £400 a month. Just 20% of small firms have switched to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls.

Vonage managing director, Kerry Ritz, told Freelance UK:

"It's far more difficult to build a rapport over e-mail than it is over the phone, which is why we are seeing a growing number of small businesses turning back to the phone as the primary means of customer communications."