Guest post by Marcel Oudejans.

With the dramatic increase in the use of technology by companies in the last 20 years, it’s no wonder that many people feel that the quality of the relationships we have with our service providers or shops are not what they used to be. Do you remember the days that you would be able to walk into your local butcher’s shop and he would probably already know who you are, what your regular order was, and offered to deliver it to you door without asking for your address because he knew where you lived?

These days, while you can shop in comfort in a supermarket and conveniently get almost everything you need, getting that kind of superior ‘old fashioned’ personal service is rare. It’s so rare that when customers demand outstanding service, they’re willing to pay more to work with someone they can create a relationship with.

Even though technology has given us the ability to communicate faster and in so many more ways, companies have used the latest tools to create faster systems, use less staff and remove the element of ‘human error’. But does this ultimately improve or strengthen the relationship with your customers?

Consider online shopping for a moment: How many companies who offer online shopping can say they have a great personal relationship with their customers? In South Africa, the Yuppie Chef team has proved that you can sell fantastic products online AND start friendships with your customers – this despite the fact that they may never meet most of their customers face-to-face!

It’s good to use the latest technology to speed up your service delivery, or to automate business processes. It’s even better to give your customers the choice of the many different ways that they can contact you. But if your focus is on using the technology and not creating a trustworthy relationship with your customers, then you’re missing the point. There’s little doubt that the biggest area of growth in IT right now is the ‘social web’ and that’s because people aren’t interested in the technology – they’re interested in personal relationships.

So the next time you have an opportunity to use new technology in your business, ask yourself whether this will improve your customer relationships. Just remember: it doesn’t matter how often you click from place to place, it will never replace face-to-face.

Marcel Oudejans is a Corporate Infotainer who is passionate about inspiring his audiences to deliver more “magic moments” to their customers in their customer service, sales & marketing. Marcel is the author of “The Serious Business Owner’s Guide To Creating Customers For Life” & provides more tricks, techniques & strategies on his blog, http://www.performmarketing.co.za