E-stuff: In the rush for high tech, have we forgotten the high touch?

Business on the Net is really no different to old-economy principles — fundamentals such as one-to-one customer servicing, CRM programmes and interactivity are in fact probably even more crucial for internet businesses. Why? Now that we have potentially gone more ‘high tech’, remote and impersonal via mobile, Internet and interactive media, research strongly suggests that consumers desire some compensating ‘high-touch’ factors, such as individualised personal service, hand-holding guidance and highly tailored promotions. The stakes are, if anything, raised higher: these ‘high-touch’ factors will continue to prove to be the critical success factors in business.