Customer service is a big one. Buffer (http://bufferapp.com) is setting a pretty high bar with their Happiness Heroes, and even their founders spend time every week doing customer service. In a world where more and more processes are becoming automated, the human touch is going to increasingly become the differentiator: and if you execute well on that, people are going to take notice.
Example: Airbnb and photography. When the founders went to New York to meet their customers in person (instead of emailing them from behind a screen in SF), they realized that many of the hosts didn't have any good photos of their listings, despite the spaces themselves being beautiful. The guys took some nice photos of their customers' listings, and WOAH: they started booking more nights. Now, Airbnb partners with local photographers around the world to provide their customers with this service.
They started with a human touch that "wouldn't scale", and it's this sort of service that, I believe, will separate the startup wheat from the chaff.
Example: Airbnb and photography. When the founders went to New York to meet their customers in person (instead of emailing them from behind a screen in SF), they realized that many of the hosts didn't have any good photos of their listings, despite the spaces themselves being beautiful. The guys took some nice photos of their customers' listings, and WOAH: they started booking more nights. Now, Airbnb partners with local photographers around the world to provide their customers with this service.
They started with a human touch that "wouldn't scale", and it's this sort of service that, I believe, will separate the startup wheat from the chaff.