In an interview with the BBC for the documentary Diana, 7 Days, Prince Harry called the paparazzi “a pack of dogs” who constantly hounded his mother. “Every time she went out, a crowd of people were waiting for her,” he said. “I mean the pack of dogs chasing her, stalking her, harassing her, calling her names, spitting on her, trying to get a reaction to get this picture of her lashing out.”

As the old saying goes, “People buy from people.” In today’s technology-driven business landscape, entrepreneurs now have many ways to interact with current and potential customers around the world.

While changes like automation can increase employee productivity, streamline operations, and increase sales-leading interactions, many businesses are so focused on the efficiency aspect that they don’t realize the loss of human contact is what attracts them in the first place. customers buy and keep them coming back.

Members as experts Newsweek Expert Forum have experience in making your brand more attractive to customers. Below, 16 of them share specific ways that any business can make their products or services more humane, and why these actions are necessary to build long-term relationships with customers.

1. Showcase the people behind the business

In a world of ever-changing business environments and the integration of artificial intelligence, it is still so important to have the human hand involved in everything you do. Showing the faces of the brand and company, and highlighting employees or product designers, your customers may still think you are down to earth. This will help them feel connected to the real people in your company, no matter how automated your business is. – Christian Anderson, LLC “Lost Boy Entertainment”

2. Use your experience

Use your personal experience. If you have a brand that was created to fill a void or provide the public with something specific based on personal experience, you will immediately gain trust. Trust is the key to attracting more customers and keeping those you have acquired loyal. – Cynthia Salarizade, House of Saka, Inc.

3. Build relationships

Build relationships to show your customers that you care about them as people first. Don’t get straight to the point. Instead, connect with shared interests, people, and experiences. Ask questions and add value. People will choose who they want to work with over the best product or price. Show them that you are responsive and build trust that you will be there for them and not just to sell. – Michelle Tillis Lederman, Author, Connector Benefit

4. Request and use customer stories in campaigns

In order to humanize the brand, a “story sharing” initiative should be implemented. Encourage customers to share their personal experiences with your brand or product and use the best of them in your marketing campaigns. It creates connection, celebrates diversity, and promotes a sense of community based on shared experiences. – Dr. Kira Graves, Kira Graves Consulting

5. Rely on human values

Don’t forget that you are human. Address core human values ​​by telling stories about how your product or service has improved business operations and the human experience. Ask customers what they like best and why, and include those messages in your marketing materials. – Margie Pebble, Avanir Health

6. Survey your customers for feedback

Reach out to your customers and say, “In our quest to improve your service, we want to know not only what you need, but what really matters to you.” Reassure customers that once you know this, you will do everything you can to help them get the information, whether it comes from you or any other source you can link them to. – Mark Goulston, Mark Goulston, MD, Inc.

7. Make sure customers can communicate with real people

Make it easy for your customers or customers to communicate with the person. In the age of automation and communication technology, many companies like to cut costs and increase the efficiency of their processes, which every company should do, but you need to give people the opportunity to talk to a person. – Colleen Plum, Investments in noble gold

8. Accept empathy

Fostering a culture of empathy enables employees to engage with emotionally intelligent customers. The needs, wants and desires of customers are unique, but the ability to listen, understand and satisfy them remains at the core of any business. Empathy is critical as buyer profiles change and more people in an organization influence purchasing decisions. – Faisal Pandit, Panasonic Connect North America

9. Think beyond facts and figures

Brand humanization relies on human factors such as storytelling, personalization, and authenticity. Products and services on their own can seem cold when facts and figures are the only way companies communicate features and benefits. However, when true stories are told, the same features and benefits allow customers to visualize themselves using the product or service. – Lillian Gregory, 4D Unicorn

10. Use storytelling

Storytelling is key. Employee reviews and corporate videos are an opportunity for people to get to know you before you meet them. Just as important is creating compelling content that emotionally connects with your target audience. – British Bloch, FleetFederal

11. Provide evidence that real people are using sentences

Show real people using your products and services in real ways to get real results. We treat the people we buy from the way the people who buy from you treat you. Both speak to our deepest human desire to belong, and belonging is the result of reality. – Karen Mangia, sales department

12. Provide exceptional customer service

What can be more human than love? Excellent customer service will make people love the product or service. When clients feel heard, understood, and respected, they will spread the word of their love. A business can easily improve customer service by eliminating complex phone trees and getting quick responses to calls from people. In addition, many companies do charity work to show that they care about people, not just about profits. – Paula Oleska, Natural intelligence systems

13. Personalize your emails and response templates

Automating emails and responses is great, but make it human! Use them as another opportunity to connect. Write the way your customers speak and customize your content as if you were talking to them. It’s so easy to change the auto-reply from “Registration Confirmed” to “Hi! Welcome to the community. We’re so glad you signed up. How can we help you today?” – Maria Ross, Red Slice, OOO

14. Highlight customer success stories

I think we need to adjust the adage to this: “People buy from people they trust, and they will provide what they are looking for.” Companies must speak the language of their customers’ desires and show that they can lead them to success. Running campaigns that highlight the successes of current clients will help communicate to potential clients that they, too, can be successful. – Donna Marie Kozin, Consult DMC

15. Be Customer Focused

As Bill Kushard puts it in his podcast of the same name, “sales assistance.” Genuinely helping others and demonstrating unparalleled customer focus is the way to humanize commercial interaction. The “Helpful Honda” marketing campaign is a perfect example of the intersection of these two concepts. If you are kind and helpful, current and potential customers will make a positive and lasting impression. – Sabina Pons, growth molecules

16. Make an effort to keep the human factor

I think about it a lot, and I think it all comes down to seeing people’s faces in person, in a conference, during a Zoom meeting, or during a Teams video call. Marketers struggle to keep the human factor as part of their strategy, so companies should be careful about how their comments or messages are written on social networks and other online platforms. – Kim Estep, Branig Capital Markets