The Human Touch for Costumers, Where and How to Start

Any business can begin the journey to develop its human touch with small and simple actions that cost nothing yet have immense and immediate impact on customers. This journey could begin with the simplicity of a smile, direct eye contact, and the words ‘‘please’’ and ‘‘thank you’’. Encouraging employees to use these simple behaviors with customers more often and with genuine warmth will make all the difference in what the customer remembers about the business.
These simple actions communicate the message ‘‘you’re a real person and we care’’. Customers remember these little human touches because that’s what is important to them as a customer and as a person. These human touches satisfy the three primary human needs that impact the customer’s decision to buy –Acknowledgement, Respect, and Trust (ART).
A higher degree of consistency and unanimity in the desired humanness of a business requires increasing levels of focus and dedication in order to achieve greater business impact. The primary human needs of Acknowledgement, Respect, and Trust provide a common thread that helps keep efforts focused and aligned through any level of rigor a business wants to pursue.
The implementation complexity is determined by the scope and scale of the business and its customers. There are eight major areas on which business should focus:
(a) Leading the Human Firm.
(b) Acknowledging Customers.
(c) Treating Customers with Respect.
(d) Building Trust with Customers.
(e) Communicating Humanly.
(f) Implementing the Human Touch Consistently across Interactions.
(g) Understanding and Applying the Human Touch as a Process.
(h) Implementing Technology to Humanize (not Dehumanize).

Source : Costumers are People, The Human touch. John Mckean 2002