Logical Breakdown Delivers What It Promises- Winning the Customer
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Benefiting from interviewing guests for Breakthrough Business Strategies radio (receiving advanced copies of books), I have been shaking my head, yes, yes, yes, while reading Winning the Customer.

Lou Imbriano has done a great job combining real life examples of how the New England Patriots learned the very lessons given in Winning the Customer.

While there are always going to be some core basics that do not change, like keeping promises, being committed, taking meaningful actions, they are all reminders of what businesses have lost sight of these past few years.  Combining those core values with the insights of great stories and examples, allows your creativity to awaken on how and where to apply these ideas for your own business.

With my experience in my company creating loyalty programs and implementing customer engagement strategies, I agree that Lou is spot on in how he shows you how, you can do the same no matter what your industry.

Before I finished, I had created two new campaigns for clients just from taking inspiration from the real- life examples Lou shared.  I take inspiration where ever it comes from, do you?
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Customer futurist, Blake Morgan, hit a home run with her first book. She had me at D.O.M.O.R.E, the nifty acronym which stands for the following: d = designs something special, offers a strong employee experience, modernizes with technology, obsesses over the customer, rewards responsibility and accountability, and embraces disruption and innovation. Fifteen well-referenced chapters sprinkled with quotes from visionaries in different fields illustrate that this adjunct faculty at the Rutgers MBA program revels in rolling up her sleeves and doing her homework.

If you have ever wondered about the demise of some brick-and-mortar businesses, Morgan makes a powerful argument that customer experience may have played a role. Using her own experience as a case study, she mentions an instance of ordering an ottoman through Etsy, getting an electrician to install a flat-screen TV, ordering groceries through Instacart, and booking Airbnb lodging for an upcoming trip to Prague, all while playing with her dog in a dog park. I agree with her assessment that this is what customers want in todays economy. I also concur with the author on the benefits of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) in easing and enhancing the lives of urbanites and people who dwell in rural areas, far removed from the on-demand conveniences of living in cities. IoT and AI are already seamlessly integrated into health and entertainment, courtesy of IBM, Amazon, Disney and other visionaries.

It is heartening to see corporations move away from a woo-and-then-take-the-customer-for-granted model to a more open, inclusive experience combined with activism and a desire to bring positive change to communities. I also enjoyed reading about the research that has gone into understanding the habits and experiences of different generations ranging from baby boomers to generation Z, to establish a rapport with the customer. However, relationships are fickle beasts that can easily dissipate after poor handling of mass data breaches, lack of transparency on the part of the company, poorly trained employees, and sub-par security features. Having said that, I am all for scale-up of this vision.
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Nathan Barry wraps up the concepts of "Lean," "Helpful marketing," and "Bootstrapping" in a succinct and actionable system. I've bought a few of his products, and he has delivered each time. He follows his own systems, and even shows his audience step-by-step how he did it. That's the beauty of helpful marketing. Not only is he giving a great product, but he's also helping his audience become better at using what he just taught them.

I've recommended his Authority to several of my clients who are the midst of launching their own products. From creating expertise, to building a tribe, to building an email list, to launching, and to retention plus extending lifetime value of a customer, Barry covers it all in his Authority book.

I'm super grateful to find his book, and to be part of his community. If you want to create a product, or even become an expert, here's the model. You just have to read and put it into action.

NOTE: If you don't put it into action, then this probably won't help you.
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The author, Michael Margolis, built a strong case that story telling is what we entrepreneurs must do in order to build credibility in business.  Margolis claims customers (b-2-b or b-2-c) buy YOU, not your product or service.

Listing examples of some fairly credible people (i.e. Barack Obama, Gloria Steinem, Seth Godin, etc.) helped me determine my "story" as a tool to use when meeting prospects, existing customers as well as most any stakeholder to gain a level of trust and credibility.
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If you are not a leader in a new market, you are a laggard. While there are conflicting opinions by pundits about being the first in the market, unless you are one of those in a new market with a compelling story that rises above the clutter, you will be unsuccessful.  Launching to Lead contains a nice mix of tactical and strategic advice to utilize when you are trying to break apart from the others.  Its no longer about a slide deck or data sheet full of features/benefits.  That me too strategy is easy to copy and is  ineffective. It's about the journey. The story.  The framework described in the book,  if you follow it, and you have a solution that will resonate with customers, will greatly increase your chances of differentiation, will creating noise that breaks you apart from the crowd, resulting in success.  Go through the framework in order the first time you read the book.  It will make it easier to understand how the tactics are integrated,as you assemble your story.  After that, incorporate your marketing maniac with a  mission skills and go back to sections, as needed.
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If anyone can write a formula for author success, its Tim Grahl. Hes worked with a Whos Who list of authors helping them build successful platforms to promote their books. Even though I was initially drawn to Tims book because I have an interest in helping my author clients, I quickly found that his Connection System is applicable to any sector whether its books or bicycles. The Connection System just plain works for people who have something to sell. The title of this book could certainly be "Your First 1000 (fill in the blank)."

First off, I like the format of the book. Its logical, which is extremely important for a book trying to teach a process or method. Each chapter is a piece of the system. There are cohesive elements in each chapter including analytics you can use to measure each piece of the system to gauge success, and takeaways to punch it home before you move on.

Another plusthe book is a quick read. Only 132 pages (thanks, Tim). I wish more authors could pack their messages into something this succinct.

The Connection System of success is pretty straightforward. There are four basic parts: permission, content, outreach, and sell. The author lays out the priorities and the pitfalls of each clearly.

He starts the book defining two bedrock concepts: the first is platform.

A platform is whatever plan and method you use to connect with your readers and sell books, whether its traveling the world to speak, hand-selling to friends or building a popular blog.

Next, he gives readers a new take on the concept of marketing. I don't think he necessarily invented the definition, but it is definitely the direction the culture is headed, and has been echoed by many others I consider experts in the field.

(Marketing is) The act of building long-lasting connections with people. It reminds me of Jay Baers Youtility. Jay was the first major voice in the field of marketing coaching us to be relentlessly helpful, a phrase Grahl uses again and again in the book.

Grahl goes through the paces of all the pieces youd expect: newsletter (the golden ticket, so to speak), spaces to connect (blog, social,website), and so on. But this book is much less about tools and more about approach. As a matter of fact, since  information in this fast paced world of marketing changes so rapidly, Grahl has URLs sprinkled throughout the book where readers can get bonus content on his latest recommendations for services like email newsletter providers, analytics, and others.

The only place I had a problem in the book is that Grahl and I disagree about the role of social media in promotion. Although I do agree that social media is an accelerant more than a driver of sales, his take on social media was not deep enough for me.

He says, Social media seems important; everyone seems to be using it with great success. But no matter how much we study it or try to use it, we are often left confused and frustrated by it because the results don't seem to match the amount of effort we put into it.

He did go on to give some very practical advice about how to use social media as a place to connect with your fans but I was left feeling he thought it a waste of time, or a necessary evil. Hard for me to concur with that.

Another huge idea he explores in the book is the difference between fans and influencers. He very carefully defines both and then talks about how to communicate with each. I loved the observation that you cannot treat them the same, but you need to connect with both.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has anything to sell, especially to authors. His emphasis on serving fans/followers rather than using them to serve ourselves should ring true with us all. The days of the sleazy car salesman type he described in the beginning of the book are numbered . Build relationships and trust by adding value to peoples lives and youll make a fan  forever.
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The author uses a logical, transparent methodology to make the job search efficient and effective. He describes several shortcuts, uses excellent analogies, and doesn't over-complicate things.
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Author Suse is correct with his simple yet very insightful message; modern long cycle campaigns need to be managed in parallel with attention to detail to reap maximum value.  His work ties together what many professional sales managers already know but seldom practice in correct methodology.  I just hope that my competitors keep doing what they are doing while I get higher value clients. I will let them fight over the price shoppers and have to deal with the service problems that come with that kind of client. Buy the book - follow Suse's guidance, and it will keep you on course.
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I would recommend this book , to anyone looking to take their business to the next level
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A great book! It describes a logical and systematic approach to improve virtually any business.  It is amazing at how the MVT process has been used on everything from manufacturing a product to increasing sales . . . and from improving quality to eliminating waste.

The author laid out the MVT process clearly in 12 steps, and gave a wide variety of examples illustrating how they have been applied in real life situations.

I would have liked even more detail on each of the 12 steps, but I guess that is why QualPro teaches seminars.
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I ordered this book and then downloaded the complimentary copy of the work book.  For me, the workbook has been very good as I'm not real keen on stopping to do "exercises" while reading a book.  So far, it's forced me to think about my strategic customer plan.  I'd already "fired" some time wasting customers but this book further helped me mentally get rid of the rest of them.

Overall this is a pretty good method to focus on a customer plan.  So far so good.

I send out a monthly newsletter to customers and will be recommending this book in my next issue.
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"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.
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Shep Hyken, the "Chief Amazement Officer" at his strategy consultancy, demonstrates a customer service program your customers - and your employees - will appreciate. He explains that he did not develop his customer service orientation in training workshops, corporate seminars or business school marketing classes. Instead, he learned his service concepts from wise parents who had sensible, good-hearted ideas about how to treat others. Hyken began putting these straightforward concepts to work at a young age and refined them as he gained business experience. His prescriptions are rooted in treating others - including your staffers - as they, and you, would wish to be treated. Hyken explains his seven foundational ideas - which are highly useful though maybe not all highly original - so clearly that any manager can benefit from them. getAbstract recommends this well-researched book and its instructive case histories to anyone whose employees serve customers.
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Mr. Snyder has done a wonderful service for all of those who have entered the business world with "merely" a College of Arts and Science degree.  "How to Mind-Read Your Customer"  is definitely a book for the thinking salesperson.  It is refreshing to see a perspective where one can apply what they have learned from many of the great thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, Jung, and even Joyce; and then apply their knowledge in a system that gives a great service to the customer, and puts income in your pocket.  This book is the answer to "What can you do with a Philosophy Major?"  The answer:  "Sell a ton!"
What the business world needs is to have salespeople who tell their story, first as a better listener, and then speak it with a more effective communication style.  Snyder helps develop both of these skills with the familiar DISC system.  However, he then takes you to the next step and asks you to develop a value system to which you can be held accountable.  Imagine a salesforce with a mission and a moral conscience!  A great read.
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This book provides a logical, clear way for people to identify their  problems and find positive solutions. It provides ways to identify when and  where a problem exists, and then todetermine whether the solution is to  modify our current plan of action or to junk it and start fresh. This book  is not for just one reading, but rather, it will be helpful again and  again.
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Easy to use, very clear information, made customers happy..
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Managing Customer Value presents a simple yet powerful method to determine where your product falls relative to the competition with respect to quality and value. This exercise alone will most likely be an eye opener for any business. The book then provides the necessary steps that must be taken to shift the location of a product on the quality/value curve. Managing Customer Value is still highly relevant and best of all it is not that difficult to put into practice.