The distraction of tools

Posted on March 8th, 2010 by tim bursch. Filed under social media.

Tools are cool. Email marketing and tracking. Listening on forums and networks. Connecting on Twitter. I hear about a new tool almost every single day. Sometimes I go and try them out. Other times, bookmark for later. If you are in business today and trying to connect better with customers, there are plenty of options. The amount of tools can be overwhelming.

I don’t know about you, but I can get caught up sometimes in the shiny new widget and forget about the most important resource: people.

What is behind all of these networks, emails, and blogs? Humans.

After tools and factories fade away, there will still be people.

What are you doing to remember people?

Image credit: batega

Tags: people

Jason Markow

I received a typed and hand signed note from my new mechanic thanking me for my business... through snail mail.

It made a tremendous impact.

Although the note was typed I could tell he had typed it because it referenced points in our conversation just a few days before.

That is the human element. I am taking the time to reach out to people in different ways like (of all people) my mechanic.

timbursch

Jason,
There is still something magical about physical mail. It is imprinted that, hey I'm important, someone recognized me. Great example.

Adam Evers

Have you read the book The Tipping Point by Gladwell?

He talks about these people that are connectors. Connectors are the people who "link us up with the world ... people with a special gift for bringing the world together." There was an example of a guy who took notes about whoever he met. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc he remembered and sent a card.

That's awesome. I want to start doing that. That's how I want to start remembering people.