"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -- Elbert Hubbard
We're living in an era where automation is becoming the norm. Business processes that were once performed by humans are more often performed solely by technology. If not already, human interactions will soon become the exception.
Within a ten-minute period this afternoon, I ordered a prescription refill from my pharmacy, got cash from my bank, and bought and paid for groceries at a neighborhood supermarket. That's three transactions at three different businesses without a single human interaction.
Efficient? Absolutely.
Engaging? No.
By automating those transactions, the pharmacy, bank and grocery store reduced their costs, but they also reduced my customer experience to its lowest common denominator. By removing the human touch, they eliminated an opportunity to trigger my emotions; they eliminated a chance to show me a competitive advantage.
Each time a business automates a customer touch point for efficiency sake, it should look balance the automation with a human touch for experience sake.
Think about a company like Zappo's. They sell a lot of shoes, and they do it very efficiently. But if you ask Zappo's what they sell, they won't say "shoes." They'll tell you they sell "happiness." And that happiness is created by the fun, engaging customer service reps that love to make a customer's day. In fact, these human interactions are the essence of the Zappos brand. Sure, the company runs a very efficient e-commerce business, but they don't forsake the human touch for more efficiency.
Here's the point: Before automating a customer touch point, think about how the automation will impact the customer experience. Will it remove an important point of emotional contact, and a competitive advantage?
If it does, then look to either enrich an existing human touch point, or create a new human touch point that adds value and emotion to the customer journey. A good example here is the Trunk Club...
The Trunk Club is a men's clothing service where a personal stylist handpicks a trunk of high-end clothes and ships it to you, so you don't have to shop or worry about selecting the right styles. It begins as an on-line experience that could certainly remain 100% on-line, but the Trunk Club adds a human element: After providing some After providing some information about yourself and your preferences, you're assigned a "personal stylist" who serves as your concierge. The stylist then calls you directly, to begin a human-to-human customer relationship.
Is this human conversation required to complete the transaction? Of course not. Many on- line retailers avoid this costly step for efficiency sake. But the Trunk Club uses these additional human interactions to create the emotional bond with their customers clicks can't do.
In his 1981 best seller, "Megatrends," John Naisbitt presciently advised us to balance high-tech with "high-touch" to preserve our humanness. This advice is more applicable today than it was 34 years ago, because technology is more prevalent, and more challenging to our humanness on a daily basis.
What are your competitive human touch points?
Where can you add more?