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Summary: Evangelism Trumps Marketing
Review: Anyone considering purchasing this book is likely to be a marketing or business professional, and has probably already read many other books that turned out to be marketing 101, re-hashed. Well, if you are looking for some true inspiration and useful tactics for your own business or industry, you've found the right book. In Creating Customer Evangelists, Jackie and Ben present their theory, six tenets and case studies in just the way that will get you pumped to be your own company's evangelist. For example, I loved being reminded of the oft-ignored opportunity of having suggestions and ideas filter through the company from the top down (as in the book's case studies of Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks, Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshops, and Colleen Barrett, Southwest Airlines). With the head of the company showing an interest (often reading all the customer email or snail mail they receive) and assigning follow-through, the company's employees can more fully understand and participate in the company's directive. When that's the case, authentic change and continual upgrades in customer experience are sure to follow. In theory, "bottom up" filters should also work, but if someone on the sales floor of the chain athletic supply store in Bozeman, MT, has a customer idea to share with the company president, there's much more chance the suggestion will fall by the wayside as it fights its way upstream. Fortune 500 companies might not realistically be able to put such a program into place, but they can certainly set up a system that works almost as well - like creating "customer evangelist" positions within their company and giving that person/team true and direct access to the ear of the CEO. For the many more of us who aren't operating within such huge corporate bodies, the possible rewards seem worth the effort when you look at the successes covered in Creating Customer Evangelists. Buy this book and see the possibilities for evangelizing your company in a whole new light.
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Summary: I want to be like Jackie and Ben....
Review: Creating Customer Evangelists has been talked about for years, even before Guy Kawasaki evangelized the idea of evangelizing...what Jackie and Ben do is present very precise case studies, that are actually inspiring...they show much insight in their writings. The book is more entertaining than i thought it would be and was a fast read...i highly reccommend this book for anyone in marketing or communications or the advertising business or the start up company...i hope i covered all bases!
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Summary: It works for us!
Review: Creating Customer Evangelists is a smart and simple book offering clear examples for fostering loyal customer relationships. I've seen most of McConnell and Huba's tenets in practice at Annie's. Reading this book highlighted all the things we do well. It also gave me great insight on what we might do even better!
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch!
Review: Creating Customer Evangelists provides an excellent foundation for formulating a plan to get the word out about your product or service. I work in an industry that needs to constantly evolve to meet our ever changing consumer base, therefore, traditional marketing approaches are too expensive and inflexible to use effectively. We will be able to implement the tenets presented in CCE to get the word out! Thank you for showing me the way!
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Summary: BACK TO VALUES
Review: CREATING CUSTOMERS EVANGELISTS is a book with back to basic values ideas - very refreshing! If what you do is good people will share that with others and create more business. Sounds so simple you may say but how do I help that along. That's what this informative book is about. There are so many flashy things out there in the world of marketing - why not just do what you do well and "get the word out" from the new relationships you've created with your quality product. Jackie and Ben have presented their ideas in an easy to read format - through stories of people who already have succeeded in this process. This book will give you new ideas to think about and great suggestions on how to implement them. I've also heard them speak and teach - very down-to-earth real people!
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Summary: Read this book and fire half your sales force
Review: Do you have a great product or service? Do your customers rave about you? Do you wish you could get more people to recommend you to their associates? Want your revenue to go through the roof without breaking the bank? This is a great book on how to boost sales without making major investments in sales, advertising or marketing. Just develop passionate customers and make it easy for them to recommend your company to others. The book is loaded with practical examples of companies who have built armies of fans who spread the word about their products. The strategy is unique and fresh, but not difficult. It's definitely worth a read, and should be in every marketer's personal library. Of course, if you don't have a great product or service, you must address that issue, or you'll have a very difficult time generating customer evangelists. Good luck. Dan Limbach...
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Summary: This book is terrific
Review: Exceptional research and detailed case analyses make Creating Customer Evangelists a required read for any astute business manager. If traditional marketing channels fail to establish a clientele who believe in your product or service, let this book be your guide toward converting regular customers into delighted evangelists. Geared toward both employees and managers, the text provides the psychological underpinnings of a "delightful" customer experience, the attributes necessary for such an experience to occur, and plenty examples of companies successfully deploying a customer-centric enterprise. Answering both the questions "what" (types of experiences nurture customer evangelism) and "how" (do I foster such a culture within my organization), McConnell and Huba have successfully developed a tool that is easily aligned to any business environment. Beginning from their manifesto of customer evangelism, the text introduces novice readers to the fundamental changes transforming marketing theory, including the expansion of McCarthy's "4 P's" concept, the unhealthy notion of "marketing as advertising", and the failure of mass marketing. Citing multiple research studies, evidence is clearly presented linking sales dollars to word-of-mouth, or evangelistic, sources. Not a terribly surprising fact on its own, however, McConnell and Huba dig deeper to understand the particular nature of the evangelists' psyche. Six tenets are presented in successive chapters, each representing one major theme common to those companies already enjoying successful customer evangelism. More than simple rules-of-thumb, each concept is more of a philosophy, coupled with brief anecdotes describing those practitioners who have blazed the trail proving its value. You must listen to your customers, determine what they need, and adjust marketing efforts accordingly. You must generate a buzz, not necessarily through guerrilla marketing efforts, but through high visibility in targeted markets conducive to spreading the word. You must build a community of customers and create a cause for which they will support. More than half the text is dedicated to an in-depth examination of seven companies who have built success upon the foundation of customer evangelism. From the old (IBM) to the new (Southwest Airlines), both famous (Krispy Kreme Donuts) and quirky (SolutionPeople), compelling evidence is provided to both substantiate the customer evangelism framework and to demonstrate its applicability in practice. The final chapter provides a comprehensive scorecard for benchmarking your own efforts while promoting customer evangelism. A refreshing combination of theory and practicality are offered throughout this book, making it an essential addition to the collection of any business manager. Joshua A. Gerlick
Rating:
Summary: Going Far Beyond the 4 P's of Marketing
Review: Exceptional research and detailed case analyses make Creating Customer Evangelists a required read for any astute business manager. If traditional marketing channels fail to establish a clientele who believe in your product or service, let this book be your guide toward converting regular customers into delighted evangelists. Geared toward both employees and managers, the text provides the psychological underpinnings of a "delightful" customer experience, the attributes necessary for such an experience to occur, and plenty examples of companies successfully deploying a customer-centric enterprise. Answering both the questions "what" (types of experiences nurture customer evangelism) and "how" (do I foster such a culture within my organization), McConnell and Huba have successfully developed a tool that is easily aligned to any business environment. Beginning from their manifesto of customer evangelism, the text introduces novice readers to the fundamental changes transforming marketing theory, including the expansion of McCarthy's "4 P's" concept, the unhealthy notion of "marketing as advertising", and the failure of mass marketing. Citing multiple research studies, evidence is clearly presented linking sales dollars to word-of-mouth, or evangelistic, sources. Not a terribly surprising fact on its own, however, McConnell and Huba dig deeper to understand the particular nature of the evangelists' psyche. Six tenets are presented in successive chapters, each representing one major theme common to those companies already enjoying successful customer evangelism. More than simple rules-of-thumb, each concept is more of a philosophy, coupled with brief anecdotes describing those practitioners who have blazed the trail proving its value. You must listen to your customers, determine what they need, and adjust marketing efforts accordingly. You must generate a buzz, not necessarily through guerrilla marketing efforts, but through high visibility in targeted markets conducive to spreading the word. You must build a community of customers and create a cause for which they will support. More than half the text is dedicated to an in-depth examination of seven companies who have built success upon the foundation of customer evangelism. From the old (IBM) to the new (Southwest Airlines), both famous (Krispy Kreme Donuts) and quirky (SolutionPeople), compelling evidence is provided to both substantiate the customer evangelism framework and to demonstrate its applicability in practice. The final chapter provides a comprehensive scorecard for benchmarking your own efforts while promoting customer evangelism. A refreshing combination of theory and practicality are offered throughout this book, making it an essential addition to the collection of any business manager. Joshua A. Gerlick
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for Every Marketer or Business Owner
Review: For every marketer or business owner who wants to stretch their marketing budget, reinforce their sales efforts and promote their brand, Creating Customer Evangelists is a must-read. Huba and McConnell do a terrific job of using real-world examples to illustrate their points, which at first might seem intuitive, but taken as a whole really add up to some terrific insights into this emerging best practice. The best chapter is perhaps #16, Customer Evangelism Workshop, which rovides some practical ideas for building momentum for a similar program in your organization.
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Summary: Framework for Creating Customer Evangelists
Review: I believe you've come across excellent writing at one time or anther. This is one of those books that's easy to read and provides concepts for immediate use. When you first open the book, you'll learn the six tenants of customer evangelism. One of these tenants is Napsterize your knowledge (give to receive) - sharing your intellectual capital in ways that are easily passed onto others. By sharing information, you actually increase the demand for your product or service. One interesting thing I noticed, a great deal of the knowledge in this book can be applied at the corporate level or by you individually - for personal development. We've all known people at work who seldom share their knowledge. I think you'll agree that these people have less influence in the corporation and thus fewer opportunities for career advancement. After you finish reading about the six guiding principals for creating customer evangelist, you can look forward to seven interesting case stories. These stories highlight companies that have used customer evangelism to delight customers and create memorable customer experiences. In turn, the customers are happy to tell their friends about that company and why they should buy their products. You will retain a clear image of the guiding concepts because stories are used to impart lessons learned. When Dallas Maverick's forward Dirk Nowitzki shaved his head before a game because his hair kept getting in his eyes when he shot the ball, the Mavs improvised and created a promotion based on a fan's e-mail suggestion. 75 fans shaved their heads before a home game in exchange for a free ticket to the game. Here's one of several lessons from that story: * Use a responsive and flexible marketing strategy. At the end of each story you'll find an Evangelism Scorecard describing how the company used the six tenants in their business. A brief workshop at the end of the book brings it all together. You answer questions that help you devise actions for each of the six tenants. How Can You Try These Concepts With Little Risk? Simply use the concept of bite-sized chunks that's described in the book.
Bite-size chunks allow your customers an easy and affordable way to experience your products or services. Don't take the author's word for it, try a concept from the book and see if it works.
When you read this book and apply the concepts, you'll delight your customers.
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