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Key Takeaways Online trust has been eroding for years, and consumers are increasingly skeptical of digital experiences — making authenticity a competitive advantage for brands willing to invest in it.
As automation and AI handle more tasks, the moments of genuine human interaction carry greater weight in winning over customers, especially for high-stakes purchases.
AI is a powerful tool for efficiency, but the actual decision to buy — particularly for significant investments — still hinges on a customer’s ability to trust and connect with another human.
Tech is amazing at getting attention. But building trust is still a job for humans.
Consider how AI has changed marketing: analytics, targeting and follow-up are exponentially faster than they used to be just a few short years ago.
But while these tasks are vital parts of keeping your company’s outreach efficient, none of them change the actual decision point where a prospective customer decides to give you their business. Most people still want to deal with a human they can hold accountable — someone they can look in the eye when they sign a contract.
And the more automated the world becomes, the more valuable that human connection is.
The roofing industry is a perfect example. My virtual home services company, Roof Maxx, uses AI to streamline training and communications in our national dealer network, but those dealers make most of their sales by dealing directly with homeowners the way only another human can.
Here’s how we do it, and how you can follow the same principles to keep your brand authentic in a world that often feels like it’s running low on trust.
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