In the age where technology is taking over more and more facets of our lives it is just common that business world is evolving and benefitting from the same technology advances. In the past few decades this has greatly enhanced the way business is done and the outcomes that are received. Removing the face-to-face aspect has helped everyone to speed up the way things are done and arguably make the process more efficient. This however has made some wonder if it could be detrimental to the aspect of the customer relationship and the longevity of the business relationships.
As Dennis Pombriant has argued in his article http://www.technewsworld.com/story/54575.html it is not the same to simply throw your customer base into a social network and call it a day. This does not replace CRM nor will it flow with everyone in the customer book.
Mechanical turk is an innovative way to distribute labor and work as far as possible even bringing knowledgeable individuals all across the world through the help of the computer and the keyboard, but if someone is not able to deliver exactly what you are looking for you are more likely to get more frustrated with the computer and the letters on the screen then if you would have with a human being.
So while technology is great at speeding up processes and delivering efficiency, can it make you feel warm and fuzzy?
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Good question. I don't think that information technology necessarily will make you feel warm and fuzzy, but then, neither do face to face interactions. I do get warm and fuzzies from certain interactions, like certain good old friends from high school, who, despite years and thousands of miles of separation, still share the same wacky perspectives and are going through a lot of the same things: when we connect online, it's a treasured warm and fuzzy interaction for me. Without the tech, I doubt we'd be in touch and I'd be wondering what they're all up to back home.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my supervisor is great about saying encouraging and appreciative things, both in person and in electronic messages, email and IM. For some reason, the same words in email or IM feel more valuable (or warm and fuzzy) - perhaps they feel more intentional than the casual thanks that (almost) everyone says when handed something (that reminds me of the time I thanked police officer for a speeding ticket, despite really trying not to, but I didn't know what else to say when handed something!).
But online communications aren't necessarily equally warm as in person interactions - I do think you have a point. I think my concern lies in the transience of the online communities, and the ease of just disappearing after a flame war, rather than staying and working on a relationship.