TECHNOLOGY IS AN AID TO THE HUMAN RACE – NOT A REPLACEMENT!

For those of us in business for ourselves and fortunate enough to be one of the 4.5 million small businesses in the UK, we understand the power of communication, and without it and without doing it properly, most of us would not be in business.

When I started my business in 1987, there were very few companies who had a website and I always thought when I went along to a networking event and someone gave me their business card with an email address on it, that they had really hit the big time.

Over the last 31 years – at the time of writing this article – technology has changed immensely, and without it most of us would not be in business today, but we must understand how to use it effectively. It is an aid to the human race and not a replacement to it.

Most large companies don’t care, and to a degree a lot of their employees are just a number and to replace 10 humans with one computer probably does not concern them too much but to us small businesses, relationships with our suppliers, our employees and our customers is everything. We use technology but not at the detriment of those relationships – well at least I hope not.

We have to get this in balance. I sold my Advertising Agency in 2016 and at the time of writing this I am still working in the business. A lot of what we do is on email – running briefs for a client and sending them an advertising order for example – but we still need to balance that out with phone calls as this is the only way we truly build relationships. You cannot pick up body language on an email in the same way as you can a face to face meeting or a phone call. Also with emails they are so often read in a completely different context in how they are sent.

As a consumer – either personally or in business – I buy from people and I will only buy from people with whom I have a relationship and who I can get to know personally. I will never do business regularly with anyone I have not met personally. Now don’t get me wrong, I do order products online to save time and money but also because a lot of retailers and other businesses do not know how to supply a service, but I would much rather buy from someone I personally know.

Now if someone I use as a supplier due to a relationship that was developed over time, and they stopped supplying me a service and insist of offering an online service – which in my book is no service – I have no hesitation in finding another supplier and I cannot for one minute believe I am the only person who thinks like this.

So please if you run a small business always make sure you supply your customers a service that they will not get anywhere else, and you will ensure you always have a business and always have happy customers and those relationships will also strengthen over time.

In so many cases, our customers utilise our services as they are looking for their Knight in Shining Armour and not some imposter wrapped in tin foil.

So what next? You need to take the next step… Just fill out the form on the contact page and let’s get your business on the road to success!