The Customer Revolution

Rating:
Summary: Regurtitating her visit to our company
Review: I worked for one of the companies analyzed (and praised) in her book. She spent a few days with us, and we presented our Web strategies, which were not very strong at the time. She presented material from her Customers.com book (which I enjoyed more than this book). And then she pointed out many problems with our Web strategies (many of which we knew...but being a large company, we were having difficulty changing). Imagine my surprise when I listened to this book and heard her praise our company. She should be in PR...she made us sound a lot better than we were!

Rating:
Summary: Creating Valuable Customer Relationships in the Internet Age
Review: Patricia Seybold and her co-authors, Ronni T. Marshak and Jeffrey M. Lewis, have taken the familiar concept of establishing customer relationships as the basis of a company's success and updated the notion into the current day and its new technology, the Internet. The book is soundly based on lasting principles about successful customer focus, and details what that means now in many interesting and detailed examples. The book is strengthened by critiques of the weaknesses of some of the most successful companies, such as Charles Schwab and Grainger.

Here are the principles:

(1) Customers are in control. This point is made with the example of Napster, and the way this enabled people to change the way they acquired and used recorded music. Customers are going to reshape businesses by their behavior, and you had better be ready to respond. The recording companies were not, and great economic harm ensued as well as a slow down in the development of new acts.

(2) Customer relationships count. The book points out that your economic value as a firm is related to how many customers you can attract and keep, and profitably supply. The authors argue that this will become a formal part of security analyst reports in the future. That would be progress over the way they value companies now!

(3) Customer experience matters. This section focuses on how people feel emotionally about how they are being treated, and contains an interesting example of the on-line financial institution, Egg.

The book then shifts into eight areas to focus on that supplement the list from their last book, which I have paraphrased:

(1) Memorable, compelling, and desirable brand personalities

(2) Smooth, continuous customer experience across channels and points of contact

(3) Genuine caring about customers and the outcomes they experience

(4) Measure how you are doing in what matters to customers

(5) Improve your operational excellence

(6) Make careful use of customers' time

(7) Integrate customer preferences and information into the company and its interactions

(8) Create products, services, and processes that can be quickly transformed as customers shift their focus.

The book addresses how all of this can be better managed, and proposes a "flight plan" approach managed by a "Customer Flight Deck" that keeps the enterprise focused on what is most important. Essentially, the Customer Flight Deck is the customer focus part of a Balanced Scorecard. In fact, you would do well to read this book in conjunction with The Strategy-Focused Organization for the most benefit. The book has several Customer Flight Decks written out about the key examples employed by the authors. I thought these were well done and helpful for applying the authors' concepts and advice.

The book is rich in quotes that help focus your attention. Here are a few of my favorites:

" . . . [R]unning a business in today's Internet-enabled era is like trying to fly a plane [while] . . . replacing the engine."

"Customers have taken control of our companies' destinies."

" . . . [C]ustomers now have access to information that lets them make informed decisions [for the first time]."

I found it easy to relate to this book because so many of the examples are familiar to me both as a customer and as a student of business. The advice to be sparing of customer time and provide coordinated contacts is going to be hard for most companies to follow, but they need to start down that path. I am constantly struck by how much time I have to waste to buy from companies, and how the one hand has no clue about how to help me with something that the other hand knows.

When this era is finally history, I suspect that companies will be divided into two categories: Those who used information to make customers' lives easier and more pleasant, and those who created technology (like endless voice mail chains) that drove customers crazy. Hopefully, the latter will soon be dead as a dodo. In which category will your company be?

I suggest that you ask yourself constantly, "What have I done to make life better and easier for my customers today?"

If you think about customer relationships as being like what a good hostess or host does, you should do well . . . as long as you implement your ideas.

Rating:
Summary: One effective way to understand customers
Review: Summary:

Customers are in control. Today most of the customers want both ¡§low prices and good services¡¨. How can a company survive and thrive in such customer economy? Transformed to customer-centric company is a must. This book teaches us how a company can successfully transform to customer-oriented company. Structurally, this can be divided into three parts and each part will have several well-know company as an examples:

Firstly, Seybold analysis how customer control business in terms of convenience, control and transparency.

Secondly, Seybold introduce the concept of ¡§customer franchise¡¨ (which means Total lifetime value of the current and expected future customers discounted back to the present) and explain how vital this concept is.

Thirdly, Seybold recommends building customer relationship is the basic element. In order to create, maintain and sustain a long-lasting customer relationship, seven factors are introduced, including, 1) Time, 2)Matters to customer 3) Brand personality, 4) Focus on customer¡¦s DNA, 5) Deliver a seamless experience, 6) Morph and 7) Execution.

Comment:

Advantages:

1. Insightful

For students who do not have much practical experiences, this book really give me a lot of insights. For example, I understand the trend of future market will tend to customer-oriented. Also, I understand it will put all company in a difficult position if company cannot put themselves in customer shoes.

2. Can apply in different situation

Also, the concept introduced by this book is useful and can be applied in different industries, companies and countries. For example: customer franchise and the seven critical factors.

3. Practical case studies

In addition, all these concepts will be supported by practical case studies which analysis by author from inside-out. For example, author will explain the background of a company first, then explain what does that company do in order to survive and thrive in this customer economy together with their actual result, at last, author will evaluate the disadvantages and advantages of that company policies and strategies.

Disadvantages:

1. Provide linkage and relationship

In my opinion, there still have room to improve. First of all, from the student point of view, the structure of this book can be more simple and clear. It is better to provide more relationship between each chapter. Sometimes, it is hard for me to follow the concepts since

2. The concepts of ¡§Customer Flight Deck¡¨

Also, the concept of ¡§Customer Flight Deck¡¨ is rather ambiguous. It is better to explain it in a more simple and practical way. Besides, author fails to provide strong evidence and reason why a company should take action to implement ¡§Customer Flight Deck¡¨. It is better to explain more and provide more supported details why that company can be improved by a recommended ¡§Customer Flight Deck¡¨.

Rating:
Summary: Customers in control - how to respond
Review: This is a practical approach to changing customers and how best to respond. In my opinion, it builds on Fred. Newell's book "Loyalty.com" What I found most useful about this book was the practical examples - relevant case studies like Egg, HP and best of all Tesco (page 250). For another book with good case examples of customer relationships, check out Cram's book "Customers that Count".

Another good point, Seybold puts up an interesting form of measuring customer relationships in chapter 8, called the "Customer Flight Deck". Structurally, the book has three principles: 1. Customers are in control, 2. Customer Relationships count. 3. Customer Experience matters. Then she lists eight tenets of a customer.com company - for the most original take a look at step six, valuing customer's time. Recommended.