Well-publicized events like the Super Bowl haven’t always just been about blockbuster commercials and Katy Perry halftime shows.

The inaugural Super Bowl in 1967 featured a bout between two football titans: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers. But that day people also got a glimpse of a space age marvel that would certainly change the way we would live and move about on daily basis.

During Super Bowl I’s halftime show at the Los Angeles Coliseum, 60,000 fans plus 51 million television viewers witnessed a man dressed as a test pilot, flying high above the football field with a jet pack. (View footage on YouTube here.)

Both children and adults that day probably savored the idea of owning their very own jet pack. Just imagine your kid jet packing to school, or traveling to the office or to the store to pick up some milk, just like an astronaut. Cars had been around for 50 years already, so of course jet packs would be the next thing.

Yet today, some 48 years and numerous technological developments later, there are still no jet packs available for sale to consumers. Check Walmart. Check Target. No jet packs are for sale anywhere.

An essential lesson lies within. With all that we hear about newer and newer cutting technologies, virtual currencies, clicks versus bricks and other things that are designed to improve on basic human capabilities, there is one thing that technology can’t deliver: That down-to-earth interaction that only humans can share.

It is especially true in business. Having real contact with your customers and meeting your potential customers face-to-face is more important than any technology money can buy. Consider some recent stories about major corporations.

Over a year ago, Discover Card launched their “Talk to a Real Person” ad campaign. Even in servicing millions of customers worldwide, the diversified financial services firm Discover Financial sought to differentiate its credit card service by giving their customers access to real people.

In the same spirit, Ace Hardware, founded in 1924, still heralds its personal touch by encouraging their customers nationwide to come in to see the “Helpful Hardware Folks”. And Southwest Airlines has built itself into the only consistently profitable U.S. airline in part because of their well-known approach to their customers as people, not numbers.

Meanwhile, we all know that social media has its place as a part of the marketing mix. But interacting with customers online comes with its share of mixed reviews.

One social media firm in Toronto — Fetoplis, a brand management firm that services big companies and major brands — recently complained that the $600,000 spent on Facebook advertising on behalf clients didn’t actually reach their ideal customers.

For smaller business like advertising specialty and promotional product distributors where and how you expend resources is critical. More importantly, the best, longest-lasting and most profitable customer relationships that you can build are done so through actually getting to know them and their needs.

By truly listening to your customers and also spending the time to understand their business needs and preferences, you will build trust and deliver irreplaceable value to them.

Remember, even in the world of business, technological revolutions are no match for real people.