What does 'meaningful interaction' with your customer look like in 2025?

​@PeterMc This is a very timely question. For us -- we’re a national library -- meaningful interaction can mean different things, depending on whose perspective with which we are viewing the interaction:

• From the customer’s perspective, it’s that they find what they are looking for, when they need it. It’s getting the right information to the right people at the right time.
• From our perspective, it’s that we are understanding who our customers are, why they are coming to us, and how effectively we are connecting them with the information they need.

Something that comes from maturity in this space is knowing when it’s appropriate to ask questions, and when we should be gleaning information from how people are interacting with us. Lately I’ve been drawing on the writing courses that I took when I was in school, where the advice was always to “show not tell.” How are customers showing us how well we are addressing their information needs?

For me, a meaningful interaction with a customer means creating a moment of connection that is deeply relevant, emotionally resonant, and value-driven for both the customer and the organization.

​@mfiset This is really evocative--sometimes we do lose sight of that moment of connection that you mention. Especially in government, it’s often a missed opportunity to explore exactly how people connect with our content. After all, we have hundreds of years’ worth of information, insight, and artifacts in our collections.

Completely agree with both of these responses ​@AdamK12 and ​@mfiset. The ‘show not tell’ insight really resonated (I was taught the same thing in school). And a huge plus 1 on creating a moment of connection - a lot of my interactions with different groups don’t feel like this but when they do it stays with me. Thank you both!