Some people would say that it is possible that technology has replaced the customer visit when it comes to business travel. Businesses don't really need to send employees on business trips as much anymore. Most everything that business owners need to do can be done via conference calls or online video conferencing. Even things like conventions are now being replaced with other means, and business travel is changing all the time. Some experts even think that virtual meetings will eventually replace face to face meetings altogether. Still, others don't believe that technology can ever really replace every aspect of business interaction.

"You can't beat face-to-face meetings for opening the relationship or closing the decision," says Tom Shaughnessy, who runs Sprint's small-business segment. Dr. Billie G. Blair, an organizational psychologist and president of Los Angeles-based management consulting firm Change Strategists, Inc., regards regular in-person meetings with clients as crucial. Her company has projects going on now from San Francisco to Toronto and Dallas. "I believe that there is a serious need for me, as president of the company, to make the rounds every six months to check in with clients and iron out any issues, or to look at additional opportunities," she says. "These things really can't be accomplished any other way."

Recently, Eberhard Haag, Amadeus' executive vice-president for global operations, gave his opinion on what technology is going to do to business travel: "Technology will replace the routine kind of meeting – typically, between people who already know each other – but it will be no substitute for those that introduce new business partners and co-workers to each other, or those designed to resolve complex issues and set the parameters for complex tasks."

Besides business travel, everything about business is changing with technology. Customers are doing more and more shopping online or even from their smartphones, and the whole business owner to customer experience is changing. There isn't as much chance for customer interaction and the whole person-to-person experience is very much changing. Customers and business owners both are having to take a new initiative and change their approaches. Things are changing for business owners and customers, and the only thing to do is to adapt and grow. For a really interesting take on how social media interaction is replacing face to face customer interaction, check out this post.

We, as business owners, have to take great care to make sure that we aren't getting lost in the technology and neglecting the customer experience. John Christie, AT&T Mobility's executive director of retail sales operations:
"The thing about technology is that it's cool, so it's neat to have things in your stores, but we're a firm believer that customers are not getting in their cars to go to stores just to interface with technology or walk over to a touchscreen," Christie said. "They want to interact with people."

Business owners are going to have to really change the way they think about customer interaction. Some ways to still interact with customers,even as the landscape of business is changing thanks to technology? Make sure to interact with customers via social media such as Twitter and Facebook. For many customers, this will be the closest thing to personal interaction that they get with a business. Make sure to utilize mobile coupons, and mobile email marketing as well, so that you can connect with your customers no matter where they are. Also, offering repeat customers discounts, special offers, and free products is a great way to develop relationships with them and keep them coming back. The main point is to always make your customers feel special, even if that is getting harder to do without as much face to face interaction. The truth is, in our technology based world, one thing we can't afford to lose, is customer interaction.