The phrase “people buy from people” has never been more relevant. We live in an age when people seriously believe AI will take over everything.

Yes, AI is making gains faster than ever–yet people still want to buy from other people they can trust.

There is something about being human that makes us want to connect with others. Customers don’t want to be seen as just another win on the board; they crave trust and deep connection–yes, even in business.

Customers are inundated with garbage filling up their inboxes, their social feeds, and the ads they see. They want to do business with people they trust, people who can help solve the problems they face daily.

Always be solving problems

The main thing that customers want is for you to solve their problems. That’s what most of the business comes down to. And it has to start from the C-suite.

At the first company I worked at out of college, I solved a massive problem for the CEO. We were at an onsite meeting with customers, and he said something really stupid. I can’t even repeat it now.

I immediately jumped in to smooth things over with our customers. As a result of fixing an embarrassing situation, he later told me,

Vaughn, you’re now going to be Vice President.

I can’t recall what the topic was even about, but what I can recall is how it felt to solve the problem for this CEO, and most importantly for this client. It felt GREAT!

I’ve held on to a sense of responsibility and importance that comes from solving customers’ problems ever since. Solving problems in creative ways is the essence of what we all should be striving to do.

You can’t afford to drop the ball on customer service

So often, we envision the C-suite providing a grand vision for the company, but rarely getting involved in the trenches on a day-to-day basis. We see the role of customer service as a highly specialized function that only the CS team can solve.

While specialization is great, there’s no replacement for helping customers directly from the top. At Mindmatrix we do this every day.

Yes, we still have all of our other duties to take care of, but we think our most important duty is ensuring that our customers know that they can come directly to us whenever they need to.

When our customers need help, they don’t get a faceless chatbot. They get a real person, often the CEO himself.

When you offer help, good things happen

This might sound like some feel-good nonsense, but what I’ve found to be true is this: when you help, good things happen.

Throughout my career, I’ve found this to be true time and again.

I used to be skeptical about it. But I can’t escape it. When you do right by the customer, good things happen. Call it karma, or call it good business. I don’t care, but I’ve found it to be true.

The importance of partnerships in the customer experience

I’ll be blunt: When I first started working in partnerships, I only cared about how we could use partners to grow revenue. But as I continue to learn, I find that the role of partners is much more complex than that.

Partnerships matter because customers want a great experience, and partnerships make that possible.

I don’t want to gloss over the importance of using partners to increase revenue. That’s a huge benefit of partnerships. When you’re selling your CEO on partnerships, it is important to stress the importance of revenue.

But the real value in partnerships comes from the relationships you build up over time. The relationships you build help you weather the storm during downturns.

The future of customer service in the age of AI

In a world where AI is rapidly changing the landscape of SaaS, the most radical thing you can do is offer insanely human customer service. Everyone is moving towards automation, artificial intelligence, and digitization.

But how refreshing does it feel to call customer service and hear a human voice rather than an automated voice menu?

How would you feel if the CEO of a company took the time to address your concerns personally?

Customers notice and appreciate the difference. A human-centric approach builds trust, loyalty, and word-of-mouth recommendations faster than any ad campaign ever could.

Radically human customer service is the ultimate competitive advantage

When you give radically human customer service, you build loyal customers who become your most vocal brand advocates. They feel connected to your brand, not just because of what you offer but because of how you make them feel.

Companies that stand out are those that remember the value of the human touch. Radical customer service isn’t just a strategy; it’s a philosophy. Adopting it doesn’t just make good business sense; it’s the right thing to do.