We are living in an age where we have come to expect that computer software can be written to do the impossible. What we failed to do with our minds, we have been able to do with the code we put into the memory chip of a computer, correct? It is the brain that can do all things, like bend steel with a simple code. For all of you who are old enough to remember, there is an old American folk tale about big John Henry, the railroad worker who was born with a hammer in his hand. The tale goes that the railroad was planning to cut through a stone mountain and had purchased a steam-powered hammer to do the work of ten men. John Henry challenged the owners of the railroad to a contest. He would work his hammer, cutting drill holes to blast a tunnel into the mountain, and they would do the same with their steam machine. Could the brawn of one man with a hammer overcome the mechanization of his job? At the end of the story, you might remember, John Henry wins the contest by his sheer will and determination, but dies from exhaustion. And the next day, the steam hammer takes his place.

When it comes to marketing your business, the steam hammer machine tends to be your web site and its close companions (social networking sites, blogs, search engines, etc.) Are there limitations to these tools that cannot be programmed to surpass a human touch? Here are a few marketing essentials that cannot be replaced by your web site.

1. Making a personal connection with another human being. We are social creatures. Even if you have photos of nice-looking customer service reps waiting to talk to your customers, more than likely the photos are not really the people who work for you. They are stock art models – they are make believe. Some marketing bloggers are suggesting that a personal connection with another person is as important today than it ever has been*. The mechanization of this (social networking, Twitter, continuous texting) can only go so far. In our own surveys with our clients’ customers, the leading reason why they retain those customers is a relationship with a sales rep, not an informative web site. People are wired to connect with people relationally.

2. Reading emotions and reacting to solve the issue. Emotions are subtle, too subtle for a computer program to figure out. In marketing, we go to great lengths to make sure the customer is happy with the work we have done for them. We conduct web-based customer satisfaction surveys to make sure we are not making the same mistakes time and again and to correct actions that have fallen short in the eyes of our customers. However, if you are paying attention, you know when something is wrong with a client relationship before the survey is ever filled out.

3. Waking up in the middle of the night with the solution. How many times have you faced this marketing dilemma? Your labors have not gotten any traction in the form of sales. There is some roadblock between your marketing efforts and your customers’ decisions to purchase from you. You put a lot of time and thought into a new solution. In the middle of the night a serendipitous idea comes to you that removes the roadblock. Your computer can’t do that.

4. Raising suspicions. Every now and then I encounter a situation that is not quite right. It is a gut reaction. It may be a mistake has been made, we are dealing with a shady business character, or just a bad deal. In marketing, there are hunches that things are not going right that cause me to put on the brakes and re-examine what it going on around me. This feeling of uncertainty is key to making marketing work and it cannot be replicated on your computerized marketing devices.

5. Creativity. There is something creative about the human experience that comes out in marketing. But hold on there, you may be thinking. What is more creative than a good web site, great internet video, or a great tweet that drives people to purchase a product? I am not talking about the creative execution of an online medium. I am talking about the wellspring of methods to capture the attention of a target audience. One of those methods is the internet itself, from which grew the new media. But it involves much more and marketers are always looking for that new angle. It has been going on since before someone put up a step-by-step Burma Shave outdoor sign campaign.

Keep in mind that in the story of John Henry, what they didn’t tell you is that diesel engines eventually replaced steam-powered devices. There will always be a new device, but you cannot replace the human factor.

 *Has Facebook Lost The Personal Touch? www.ScottGradneronline.com