Rating: 
Summary: The title says it all.
Review: Although this book was written in 1998 (I read it in Dec 98) the main themes still hold true. The author takes bricks-and-mortar business concepts and applies them to the on-line world. Obviously some material is dated but in general her theme of identifying the true customer and focusing on what the customer wants can be used in any business environment. She cites numerous recent examples of how companies used the Internet to re-invent their business models. Most of the chapters are written in MBA-type case studies. Ms. Seybold however, was wise enough to remove the technical jargon and put it in a seperate section at the end of each case. The non-tech person can read this book easily without being bogged down by technical information. Likewise, tech people will find the actual details of the implementation strategy somewhat interesting. I would give it more stars but their have been a few books written recently on internet strategy that are slightly more timely.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Although it was just published in 1998, Customers.com quickly attained the status of an Internet business classic. Of course, that title might be a bit dubious now that the book has outlived many of the companies that tried to put its strategies into practice. But despite your view on the viability of e-businesses, there's no denying the innovation and thoroughness of Patricia B. Seybold's work. Don't be misled by her breezy style; this is an authoritative and informative book. Seybold gets right to the heart of the links between business and technology. Using plenty of examples from major corporations, she suggests eight major strategies for harnessing the power of technology, especially the Internet, to advance your business. Since the book's initial publication, many other authors have espoused these e-tenets, but we [...] advise you to read the original - Seybold probably said it first, and probably said it best. Remember, the collapse of the tech bubble didn't wash away the Internet, which could still prove to be a critical element of your business.
Rating:
Summary: Good book but needs updating now.
Review: With so much changes in the internet business, this is a good reading to understand how should you start, but new technologies are available now. This book was written in 98, so Patricia Seybold should rewrite.
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Summary: OVERCOME YOUR "STALLED" THINKING ABOUT E-COMMERCE PROFITS
Review: CUSTOMERS.COM is a very valuable book in that it focuses both on how to serve customers on-line as well as how to make money doing so. Like a good consultant, the author systematically looks at best practices from each of 16 cases, and combines the lessons into a vision of the future best practice (in 2-3 years) that no one is yet doing. This is an outstanding accomplishment, that is not matched in most best practice books. I also visited the CUSTOMERS.COM Web site to register for the free booklet that is offered, and was pleased to get many ideas to improve our own electronic commerce. Be sure to check here from time to time, because the author updates the 16 case histories in the book on the Web site so that you can keep up-to-date. That is an especially nice touch. Ms. Seybold does a nice job in CUSTOMERS.COM of critiquing each case history for ways that organization could improve. Let me do the same for her book. Several things stand out. First, the book does not go into enough detail about how to find the weaknesses in current operations that will permit greater profitability through changed processes facilitated by electronic commerce. There is a lot of best practice work needed in those areas before you start thinking about electronic commerce. Second, she does not address the question of what the ideal best practice of electronic commerce is. You might think of a well-informed concierge in a great hotel who knows you well as the model for this ideal best practice. Third, more needs to be done to help you learn how to facilitate the change process. The steps she describes would be very difficult for many organizations to implement that are beset by severe stalls in the form of tradition, disbelief, misconceptions, bureaucracy, avoiding the unattractive (such as customer problems), procrastination, and miscommunication. Fourth, the book highlights a lot of very interesting case histories and shows their successes. I was struck that although I am a heavy Web user and a substantial customer of many of these organizations, I did not know about the electronic services they offer. It sounds like many of these organizations still have a communications problem with their customers. Fifth, the available technology will advance a lot in the next five years. I felt the book does not do enought to make people aware of how technology that is not yet available can facilitate the future success of their electronic commerce. No book can serve all needs in an area, so we can look forward to Ms. Seybold's next book. I enjoyed the personal touch as she described her own experiences with many of the companies involved. I hope she keeps in touch with them and us. I suspect she will based on the e-mails I get from her after registering on her site.
Rating: 
Summary: An education in itself...
Review: Being a college student, I was at first reluctant to read Seybold's book as a class assignment. In hindsight, it's one of the best decisions I could've made. This book presents dynamic ideas that are being overlooked at universities today. Rather than focusing on the "how to's" Customers.com gives you the "why's" of the customer market. Talk about making me think! Not only did this book provide an excellent point of reference for class discussions, I found myself unconsciously transferring the knowledge into my job. One thing to take note of: THIS IS MORE THAN A TECHIES BOOK! Anyone in business will undoubtedly benefit from reading it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rating:
Summary: Remains solid
Review: Got this when it came out and gave it a read. Three years have passed and I just referred to it to support writing a paper on technology. The details are good and the higher level dialogue do a nice job of getting the message across without belaboring anything. If you are about the web and doing business, this is worth the bucks and time.
Rating:
Summary: The first success factor is targeting the right customers
Review: "Would you like to know how your organization can benefit the most from electronic commerce? Would you like to know how your customers can benefit from your electronic business initiatives? Patricia B.Seybold writes, "That's what this book is about. This book summarizes the best practices for electronic commerce and electronic business today on the Internet and beyond." In this context, she identifies eight critical success factors in electronic commerce and e-business as following: 1. Target the right customers- * Know who your customers and prospects are. * Find out which customers are profitable. * Decide which customers you want to attract (or keep from losing). * Know which customers influence key purchases. * Find out which customers generate referrals. * Don't confuse customers, partners, and stakeholders. 2. Own the customer's total experience- * Deliver a consistent, 'branded' experience. * Focus on saving customers time and irritation. * Offer peace of mind. * Work with partners to deliver consistent service and quality. * Respect the customer's individuality. * Give customers control over their experience. 3. Streamline business processes that impact the customer- * Start by identfying the end customer. * Streamline the process for key stakeholders. * Continuously improve the process based on customer feedback. * Give everyone involved a clear view of the process. 4. Provide a 360-degree view of the customer relationship- * Provide one-stop shopping for the customer. * 'Remember' everything your company know about the customer. * Ensure that everyone in the company has access to the complete customer picture. * Put an underlying technical infrastructure into place to provide a 360-degree view. 5. Let customers help themselves- * Let customers help themselves to information and perform transactions on-line. * Let customers interact using whatever media they choose. * Give customers the ability to design their own products. 6. Help customers do their jobs- * Develop a deep understanding of how your customers do their jobs. * Continuously refine your business processes to make it easier for your customers to do their jobs. * Give customers direct access to your inventory. * Gve customers the ammunition and tools they need to make purchasing decision. * Prepare bills the way your customers need them. * Make it easy for your customers to satisfy their customers. 7. Deliver personalized service- * Develop a warm, personal relationship with each customer. * Let customers specify and modify their profiles. * Custom-tailor information presentation and offers based on customers' profiles. * Provide appropriate service and information based on customers' needs. * Give customers access to their transaction histories. * Encourage customers to 'leave something of themselves behind.' 8. Foster community- * Seduce customers into the fold. * Introduce customers to others with common interests. * Introduce and reinforce common terminology and values. * Let customers 'strut their stuff.' * Encourage customers to become part of the 'in crowd.' Finally, she writes, "I strongly recommend starting with the first success factor, targeting the right customers. If you don't start there, the rest of the factors may be well executed, but you'll be wasting time on the wrong customer population. After that, however, there are no hard-and-fast rules to decide which success factor to work on next. Indeed, most of these factors are interrelated, and you'll find, as you begin to focus on one, that you've gone a long way towards finding solutions to others." Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Patricia Seybold does a great job letting the reader know that the root of success is understanding the end customer's needs. She not only analyzes 16 case studies of well known corporations, but includes her own experiences with these companies or the subjects being discussed. She is able to get her point across without being boring, looking at the subject form different angles. She did not focus only on "web-site" interaction but e-commerce in general. I thought the case study of General motors was great. She talked about making the customer feel at home and the importance of giving him/her personal attentionl. I also enjoyed her section on Cisco and Tripoid. I was able to see how empowering a customer is fundamental to these companies success even though their business models and customers they target are very different. Although the book is over 2 years old, I find that most of the information in it is very relevant to today's businesses. I specially liked the fact that she has a separate section for the infrastructure of these companies internet strategy. I liked her chart of critical success factors and markings on the factors that were going to be heavily discussed in the case study. The only thing I am not sure is totally relevant (besides the outdated technology section) is that she talks about money being generated by advertisements. I think that in 1998 this was true, nowadays most websites are not able to sustain themselves only with ads money. I also checked out the customers.com site. I think it is a nice site, but that the updated info about these case studies needs to be updated again. The updates are dated nov. 1998.
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Summary: Patricia Seybold "gets it"!
Review: I bought Customers.com on Friday afternoon and finished it the following Tuesday. I even put aside the latest Tom Clancy to read it. As a project manager for an organization that is beginning a rapid movement to e-commerce, the insights offered were invaluable. Too often we focus on improving our internal systems and neglect to focus on the customer-facing applications. Patricia Seybold "gets it" - and so do the 16 companies she profiles in this book. With examples of successes (and shortcomings) from companies covering a wide spectrum of businesses, I found dozens of real life, practical examples that I can begin to use now. The style is easy to read. Each case study describes what the subject organization did right, what they did wrong, and what their next steps should be. I heartily recommend this to anyone (business or technical) who is or will be involved in e-commerce. Whether you're defining business and/or technical strategy or implementing, this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Good reference
Review: This is a good reference for anyone concerned with the word e-business as it put across whole gamut in a simple and lucid manner while putting most important word in any business i.e. Customer in the centre.The large number of examples given in the book make concepts crystal clear.And the technical details given about every exmaple is quite helpful in assessing the current technology in terms of use and stability. That makes it useful for the people looking for the technical details as well. Highly recommended.
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