Connecting in a High-Tech World: Keeping Relationships at the Center of Business

Originally Published as: High Touch in a High-Tech World: Why Relationships Still Build Rural Business

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A while back, I was talking with a gentleman from the Plain community when he surprised me with a comment. “I loved that guest you had on who talked about the plane that went into the river in New York City.”

“Oh, you mean Dave Sanderson?”

“Yes, that’s the guy. What a great story. That must have been pretty scary. I’ve never been on an airplane, but that must have been something.”

Dave was one of the passengers aboard US Airways Flight 1549, famously known as the Miracle on the Hudson. He has since become a friend, and his story of leadership and survival is incredible.

What caught me off guard that day was learning that this gentleman had watched the podcast.

I had assumed that because he lived and worked in a community that generally uses less digital technology, he probably had no idea what I was doing online. He knew far more than I expected, remembered the conversation, and had taken something meaningful from it.

I had misjudged him.

I have also made the opposite mistake.

Before an industry trade show, I repeatedly posted on social media that I had free admission passes available. I talked about the show, promoted the opportunity, and believed I was telling the world.

Then I walked into a customer’s place of business.

“Hey, Randy, is there any way you can get us free passes for that show?”

Fortunately, I laughed to myself before answering. I suddenly realized that while I thought I had told everyone, I had missed some of the people I most wanted to reach.

That was another eye-opener.

We cannot assume people haven’t heard us because they aren’t active in our digital world. We also cannot assume people have heard us simply because we’ve been active in ours.

That is the challenge of developing relationships in a high-tech world.

Communicating Is Not Always Connecting

We have more ways to communicate than at any other time in history.

We can email, text, post, message, record videos, host podcasts, conduct virtual meetings, automate follow-up, and use artificial intelligence to help us prepare and organize. Builders can create estimates, drawings, and proposals faster than ever. Suppliers can manage inventory, track deliveries, and communicate product information almost instantly. Manufacturers can provide technical information, installation instructions, and training without waiting for the next in-person meeting.

These are remarkable tools. I use many of them every day and take a certain amount of pride in being the Hybrid Road Warrior Randy.

Technology has allowed me to stay connected with customers while traveling, share information across the industry, host conversations with people from around the country, and maintain relationships that would be difficult to manage through personal visits alone.

However, we can become so busy communicating that we forget to connect.

We send the email. We schedule the post. We automate the reminder. We check every box and still miss the person standing on the other side of the transaction.

Technology may help us reach the customer. High touch gives the customer a reason to trust us.

People Still Do Business With People

Rural construction includes a wide range of businesses. Some use highly sophisticated systems throughout their operations. Others use technology selectively. Some rely mainly on phone calls, personal visits, handwritten notes, and face-to-face conversations.

There is room for all of them.

A growing metal-building company may have advanced estimating software, customer relationship management systems, automated scheduling, and a strong social media presence. A smaller post-frame builder may use email, text, and a basic website. A shed builder serving a local market may generate most of the company’s business through referrals and a reputation developed over many years.

The right amount of technology will not look the same for everyone.

The better standard is to use technology as much as it serves the customer, the relationship, and the way you do business.

More technology does not automatically create a better customer experience. The right technology can make us faster, better prepared, more consistent, and easier to reach. The wrong application can make customers feel like numbers moving through a system.

Regardless of the tools being used, customers still want many of the same things.

They want someone to listen.

They want honest answers.

They want realistic expectations.

They want communication when something changes.

They want people to keep their word.

They want to know somebody will answer when a problem shows up.

That is the high-touch part of the business, and no software can replace it.

Relationships Run Through the Entire Chain

In rural construction, the relationship with the end user receives much of the attention. It should. That property owner may be investing a significant amount of money in a barn, post-frame building, shed, garage, barndominium, workshop, or metal building.

Yet that customer’s experience depends on several relationships they may never see.

The manufacturer serves the supplier. The supplier serves the builder. The builder serves the property owner. Every person along that chain is somebody else’s customer.

When those relationships are strong, information moves more quickly. Problems are addressed earlier. Expectations become clearer. Everyone is better equipped to serve the person at the end of the chain.

Suppliers play an especially important role in this industry. The relationship between a rural builder and a trusted supplier often runs much deeper than ordering products and checking prices.

The best suppliers understand how their builders operate. They know the types of projects they handle, the products they prefer, and the challenges they regularly encounter. They communicate shortages and delays early. They bring ideas that may improve an installation or help the builder offer additional value. When a job goes sideways, they help find an answer.

That supplier relationship eventually reaches the property owner.

If the builder can get accurate information quickly, the customer receives a better answer. If the supplier catches a potential problem before materials ship, the builder avoids a delay. If the manufacturer supports the supplier when a product issue occurs, everyone has a better chance of taking care of the end user.

Customers may never know how many conversations occurred behind the scenes. They will certainly feel the result.

Use High Tech to Strengthen High Touch

High tech and high touch work best when they feed each other.

A social media post can begin a conversation with someone you have never met. A video can allow a potential customer to see your personality before calling for a quote. A customer management system can remind you to follow up after a building has been completed. A text can provide a quick jobsite update. A virtual meeting can bring together a builder, supplier, and manufacturer to solve a problem without losing days to travel.

AI adds another powerful set of tools.

I use AI and believe businesses need to understand what it can do, what it cannot do, and where it fits within their operation.

AI can help us research a customer before a meeting, identify trends, organize schedules, prepare questions, manage information, and make better use of the knowledge available to us. It can reduce the amount of time spent on repetitive work and help us walk into conversations better prepared.

What we do with the time it saves matters.

If AI saves us an hour and we spend that hour staring at another screen, we haven’t gained much. If we use that hour to call three customers, follow up on a delivery, visit a builder, or help someone solve a problem, technology has strengthened the relationship.

Use technology to create more time for people, not more distance from them.

That should be the test for every new tool.

Does it help us serve customers better?

Does it make communication clearer?

Does it help us respond more quickly?

Does it give us better information before a conversation?

Does it free us to spend more time listening, helping, and building relationships?

If the answer is yes, the technology is doing its job.

If it allows us to hide from customers, avoid difficult conversations, or replace personal attention with generic communication, we may be using efficiency as an excuse.

Meet Customers Where They Are

My experiences with the Plain community gentleman and the free show passes taught me the same lesson from opposite directions.

Never assume.

We should never assume customers do not use technology because their businesses appear traditional. We should never assume they saw an email, post, or video because we published it. We should never assume their preferred communication method is the same as ours.

Ask them.

Would you prefer a phone call, text, or email?

Do you want printed product information or a link to the website?

Would a video help explain the installation?

Who else should be included when we discuss the project?

How often would you like an update?

These are simple questions, but they show respect. They also save time because we stop guessing about what the customer wants.

Meeting customers where they are does not require abandoning the technology we use. It means giving customers reasonable ways to work with us.

A customer who prefers phone calls should not have to chase an automated system to reach a person. A digitally focused customer should not have to wait several days for information that could have been sent immediately. A builder working from a jobsite may need a quick text. A supplier reviewing a complicated order may need a detailed email and a follow-up conversation.

The communication method can change. The commitment to the relationship should not.

High Touch Shows Up When Things Go Wrong

Technology looks its best when everything is working.

The online order goes through. The automated confirmation arrives. Inventory numbers are accurate. Deliveries appear on schedule. The customer receives progress updates without asking.

High touch becomes especially important when the plan breaks down.

A product becomes unavailable. A truck is delayed. A measurement is wrong. A customer changes the scope. Materials arrive damaged. Weather moves the schedule. Someone made a mistake.

This is where relationships earn their keep.

A builder who calls the customer early and explains the situation preserves more trust than one who sends a vague message after the customer begins asking questions. A supplier who starts working on alternatives before making the call brings value to the conversation. A manufacturer’s representative who stays involved until the problem is resolved becomes somebody the supplier will remember.

The customer does not expect every project to be perfect. They do expect the people involved to care about what happens next.

No automated message can replace a sincere conversation that says, “Here is what happened. Here is what we are doing. Here is when you will hear from me again.”

Then you have to follow through.

Cross-Pollinate the Two

We sometimes talk about high tech and high touch as though we must choose one side.

We don’t.

The real opportunity is to cross-pollinate the two.

Use high tech to extend your reach. Use high touch to deepen the relationship.

Let your website answer the basic questions, then make it easy for someone to reach a real person. Use social media to remain visible, then pick up the phone. Use AI to prepare for a customer meeting, then listen closely enough to learn what the research could not tell you. Use automation to remind you to follow up, then make the follow-up personal.

A high-tech company can still be warm, responsive, and deeply personal. A low-tech company can adopt tools that make it easier to communicate without changing the character of the business.

The goal is to use each one to make the other more effective.

Rural building remains a relationship business. Reputation matters. Referrals matter. Showing up matters. Answering the phone matters. Keeping your word matters. Staying present after the order has been placed matters.

Technology can help us do all of those things more consistently and across a much larger market.

But it cannot care.

That part is still up to us.