{"id":5664,"date":"2014-12-01T00:38:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T00:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=5664"},"modified":"2014-12-20T15:56:21","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T15:56:21","slug":"feeling-thankful-for-human-interaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/feeling-thankful-for-human-interaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Thankful for Human Interaction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Humans have become adept at automating everything, and we\u2019re rapidly replacing human effort with mechanization and\/or computerization. We have found a way to automate more and more tasks in our factories, schools, medicine, even communication! While this is often a good thing, we\u2019re also coming to terms with the fact that we can\u2019t (and shouldn\u2019t) automate every aspect of our lives. Some of us have found out the hard way that just because you\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0automate a process, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u00a0should<\/em>. And that\u2019s especially true of human interaction. I\u2019m feeling particularly thankful that business seems to be finally taking a closer look at the value of building relationships and their critical importance.<\/p>\n

There is a struggle going on between automation and human interaction. Sustaining and growing any business (for profit, and especially non-profit) depends on human interaction. How you connect, collaborate, generate trust, create loyalty, keep promises and earn Return on Relationship is totally dependent on human-to-human interaction, and always will be.<\/p>\n

I think this lesson has been brought home on the social media front, especially. Companies are finding out that yes, you can automate a lot of what you do on social platforms, but the critical element of engagement and interaction should\u00a0never<\/em>\u00a0be automated.<\/p>\n

For those of you who use social scheduling software, this is particularly important. In fact, Hootsuite, came out with an article on\u00a0The DOs and DON\u2019Ts of Social Media Automation<\/a>, and I highly recommend you give it a read.<\/p>\n

You can find software to help you shorten just about any social process today. You can use it to help you find and reach out to prospects online that match your business criteria, create helpful content, curate other people\u2019s content and schedule it. It can help you analyze your data, look for conversations, find the best times to post, etc.<\/p>\n

But companies are finding out that automating replies, direct messages and other communications that should be one-on-one interactions just doesn\u2019t work. People need to connect as individuals and shun the kind of automation that short-circuits that connection. While ATMs at the bank and in the store are a great timesaver, it\u2019s really nice to connect with a human being when you have a question. We also prefer to speak to a warm body over the phone\u2014not an endless list of voice recordings for every scenario. We want our social connections to be human too, and we want to converse with them in real time. It\u2019s comforting and life-affirming, like the family gathering at the Thanksgiving table, and brands are re-learning the importance of it.<\/p>\n

I think one of the biggest indicators of a trend back to individualized connection is that customer experience is finally taking a front seat in business again. For instance, I just did a search on \u201cCustomer Experience Manager\u201d in LinkedIn, and came back with 223,142 results! Companies like Amazon, Audi and Dish Network top the list.<\/p>\n

In fact, here\u2019s an excerpt from an Audi Customer Experience Manager role responsibilities:<\/p>\n

Strategy \/ Communication \/ Drive Customer-Centric Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n