How Tech is Making Face-to-Face Relationships More Important Than Ever

Image Courtesy of IABC: https://www.iabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/iabc-articles-november-2010.jpg

It's so easy today to jump onto the Internet and get in touch with your friends and family through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even the humble Email. Right now you're reading this blog, which allows me to communicate and express opinions, which are accessible almost anywhere in the world. The power that we have today at our fingertips is truly breathtaking but raises a few issues. Having the ability to communicate via a screen or microphone negates the need, for many people, to meet in person. This is particularly detrimental in a business, where communication and customer relations are so paramount to success.

I think that Forbes contributor Alan Hall sums it up quite eloquently by saying that "Award-winning business builders know their customers as well as they know their own families". How are you going to get to know your customer, and more importantly, make a great impression, via pixels and speakers? Today its becoming more and more overlooked just how crucial it is to meet someone, shake their hand and sit down for a conversation. Making the time and effort to see your customers, even if its every now and then and even if its representative, gives a far stronger impression of care and concern for the customers needs than a Skype call ever could.

We as a species are a social group. We have senses refined for taking in our surroundings and languages designed to communicate with those around us. There is an intangible difference to meeting someone compared to speaking on the phone or the computer. Achieve Solutions have a brilliant article on this. Here's just a small excerpt:

When we laugh together, smile at one another, shake hands, or share a meal, we bond on a primal level that cannot be replaced by electronic communication. We literally take in many cues from our various senses—sight, sound, feel, taste and smell—when we interact face-to-face. There’s even scientific evidence that we react to and process the scent of others on a subconscious or unconscious chemical level.

In the past it used to be a given that if you wanted to have a meeting you'd sit down at a large table and talk face to face. Today however, with the advent of modern technology it may appear that this is a thing of the past. But I can't stress on stronger terms how important, and this goes out more to my generation than anyone else, meeting people in real life is to the success of your business. Don't be tempted by the speed of online communication. Yes, it will get things done potentially earlier but in the big picture long-lasting relationships melded by personal contact will always outweigh time savings.

For another great article on what I'm on about have a look at IABC's piece 'What’s So Great About Face-to-Face?'