Craig Soup Web Design Blog

One of the main reasons that I’m sitting here writing this blog is because being transparent and personable is quickly becoming a crucial success factor for an online business. When the Internet first began gaining popularity, many aspects of society surprisingly became less and less personal. We had access to more people and more information than ever before, but it seems our social skills started to decline.

We started to see the Internet as an easier way to talk to people without having to worry about all the hands-on frustrations of face-to-face communication. If there was something we needed to say to someone but we were too afraid to do it in person, we’d send an email or an instant message! We suddenly became braver. Socially inept teenagers all over the world, when introduced to chat rooms and instant messenger services, suddenly became social butterflies. People who were by nature timid and non-confrontational suddenly found themselves hurling insults and threats at people who they knew they would never meet.

Unfortunately, this detachment from reality also started to seep into the business world. Hiding behind fancy websites, companies large and small built a presence on the Internet that offered them global exposure to people who would never set foot in their stores or offices. And the people who ran the companies became less and less connected with the people who were buying their products. If a company’s website had any contact information, it would ultimately send the customer’s messages to any number of obscure office workers who were being payed minimum wage to weed through customer inquiries. The end users of a company’s website were severely disconnected from any of the company’s major decision makers.

And for a while, it worked. But lately, the Internet is starting to become more personal. Blogs like the one you’re reading right now are giving personality to websites, and it’s getting to the point where a successful website without some sort of blog or personal touch is almost unheard of. Social networks are bringing people together in ways that were never imagined, and businesses are becoming a large part of it.

One company in particular, as pointed out to me on PagePlane’s Blog, has taken a drastic step in the right direction. House Industries has posted names, portraits, and email addresses of their employees on their contact page. Want to email one of their illustrators directly? No problem. Just go to the company’s contact page, and you’ll find the email address you’re looking for.

But wait a minute, Craig! What about spammers?

Well, it seems that sifting through spam is one chore that a business is going to have to endure if they truly want to connect with their customers. It’s a nuisance, sure, but in the long run, I think it’s certainly worth it.

So if you want to set your business apart, stop farming off your customer service calls to some other country just because their wages are lower. Invest in your customers by giving them access to YOUR people.