In the late 1990s, proponents of Internet-based marketing predicted that the web would allow marketers to be supremely responsive to clients via the one-to-one characteristics of the online experience. Pundits predicted the Internet would prevail over the Luddite cult of personality and reputation. But they forgot we shop.
Our online shopping and problem solving experiences – “I have to do what to return these shoes?” – have predictably underscored the value of human intervention in establishing reputation. Just press “0″ to speak to a human. The same proposition holds true for lawyers who service people, not entities.
