Technology Doesn’t Replace That Human Touch
By Tom Irmen
There’s no question that improvements in technology can help businesses enhance the customer experience. But it’s unlikely that this technology by itself will ever replace that human touch. While technology can help improve the customer service experience delivered by humans, reliance on technology alone can result in the absence of that human experience that is the foundation of a meaningful, long-lasting relationship. Unless you are in a generic marketplace where you are unable to successfully differentiate yourself and where low prices dominate, the absence of genuine customer relationships can severely impact your bottom line.
Because technology is playing an ever-increasing role in our daily lives, creating and maintaining genuine relationships are all the more important to your customers today. And the more you reach out to your customers on a personal level, the greater the trust and loyalty that results.
Meaningful relationships help you better understand your customers and their competitive marketplaces. It also places you in a much better position to assist them in a way that will truly differentiate you from your competitors! And when competitive situations arise, as they inevitably do, your customers, whose loyalty you have earned, will likely confide in you. Remember that the lack of human relationships in business makes you particularly vulnerable.
I joked recently with a new client who, in his first email to me, asked me to call him personally. I asked him his age, suggesting that he was probably at least 50 years old. When he asked why, I explained that it has been my experience, as well as the experience of a great many of our clients, that a growing number of potentially new customers choose to conduct business exclusively via text or email. This is particularly true of many younger entrepreneurs. It seems that they have chosen to conduct their businesses in a generic world. While perhaps appearing efficient on the surface, just imagine how this generic environment deprives these same entrepreneurs of the very relationships that might have helped their businesses to prosper.
Don’t ignore the power of the human touch, as genuine relationships will trump any advancements in technology.