Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships [Hardcover]

James G. Barnes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2006

"The customer relationships that a company is able to cultivate represent the most important asset that will never appear on its balance sheet."
-From Chapter 1 of Build Your Customer Strategy

Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships spells out how to create profitable and lasting customer relationships. It demystifies creating the great customer experience-something that everyone seems to be talking about these days-by showing you how to approach "experience" in ways your competitors haven't even thought of.

Praise for Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships

"Jim Barnes has written a down-to-earth, highly readable book that takes you through real examples with concrete ideas you can use today. Fact is, customers are the only source of revenue, and Jim will help your company build the strategy to grow the value of each customer to your firm, by making sure your firm becomes more valuable to each customer."
-Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, PhD coauthors, The One to One Future and Return on Customer

"Jim Barnes is in a class by himself as a guru who truly understands customer relationships from the customer's point of view. Read Build Your Customer Strategy when you're ready to move past slogans and technology-based CRM projects to create real customer equity and long-term profitability."
-Bob Thompson, CEO CustomerThink Corp., and founder, CRMGuru.com

"Build Your Customer Strategy is the book for leaders committed to creating genuine connections with clients. Jim goes beyond conventional thinking to help businesses understand, create, and implement a strategy that will result in the type of long-term loyal customers everyone wants-the ones who bring their family and friends."
-Anne Lockie, Executive Vice President, Sales Canadian Personal and Business Clients, RBC Royal Bank

"Excellent reading. Jim Barnes brings a refreshing perspective to customer service, loyalty and the importance of long-term, sustainable client relationships. Insightful and very educational."
-Stephen Foster, Senior Vice President, Operations Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Goods and services are no longer enough.Today's customers attach an emotional connection to the products they use and to the businesses at which they shop. Wouldn't you love to have your customers raving about your company or about your product and calling it their own? Now you can.

With his profound insight, simplicity, and uncommon sense, industry expert and author Jim Barnes shows you how managers and executives can create lasting and genuine customer relationships that will withstand the competitive overtures of other companies. He draws on his more than thirty years of experience listening to end-consumers and business customers from a wide variety of industries to enable you to develop your own customer strategy, using the building blocks of successful customer relationships that are presented in this book.

Filled with case histories of companies that have succeeded in building solid, genuine relationships with customers, this book will help you to maximize and capitalize on the opportunities your customers represent. This hands-on book:

• Explores the process of developing and sustaining customer relationships that establish an emotional connection
• Explains how to achieve the lofty status where customers will actually be proud to be your customers
• Considers how to manage difficult relationships, such as those that take place via technology or at great distances
• Helps you take the pulse of your customer relationships and identify where those relationships are weak and where they are strong

Required reading for every CEO, chief customer officer, customer service executive, and marketing executive, this book urges you to adopt—and keep in mind—the customer's perspective and what it means as a customer to have a relationship with a company or brand. Build Your Customer Strategy shows you how to make a connection with your customers that will not simply satisfy them, but also build and keep their loyalty for your business's long-term success.

From the Back Cover

"The customer relationships that a company is able to cultivate represent the most important asset that will never appear on its balance sheet."
—From Chapter 1 of Build Your Customer Strategy

Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships spells out how to create profitable and lasting customer relationships. It demystifies creating the great customer experience—something that everyone seems to be talking about these days—by showing you how to approach "experience" in ways your competitors haven't even thought of.

Praise for Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships

"Jim Barnes has written a down-to-earth, highly readable book that takes you through real examples with concrete ideas you can use today. Fact is, customers are the only source of revenue, and Jim will help your company build the strategy to grow the value of each customer to your firm, by making sure your firm becomes more valuable to each customer."
—Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, PhD coauthors, The One to One Future and Return on Customer

"Jim Barnes is in a class by himself as a guru who truly understands customer relationships from the customer's point of view. Read Build Your Customer Strategy when you're ready to move past slogans and technology-based CRM projects to create real customer equity and long-term profitability."
—Bob Thompson, CEO CustomerThink Corp., and founder, CRMGuru.com

"Build Your Customer Strategy is the book for leaders committed to creating genuine connections with clients. Jim goes beyond conventional thinking to help businesses understand, create, and implement a strategy that will result in the type of long-term loyal customers everyone wants—the ones who bring their family and friends."
—Anne Lockie, Executive Vice President, Sales Canadian Personal and Business Clients, RBC Royal Bank

"Excellent reading. Jim Barnes brings a refreshing perspective to customer service, loyalty and the importance of long-term, sustainable client relationships. Insightful and very educational."
—Stephen Foster, Senior Vice President, Operations Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471776602
• ISBN-13: 978-0471776604
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why you need your customers to have an emotional bond with your company and how to develop it., November 2, 2007

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships (Hardcover)

Think about the businesses and products you care about most. It might be a favorite restaurant or a professional tool you use in your job. Do you feel an emotional connection to the business? Why? Do you see a face or remember some particularly special personal interactions with the company? You probably do. Now, do you suppose that your customers fell that way about your company? Why not? If they do, what are you doing so they feel that emotional connection?

James Barnes has written a very powerful book about why you want to have your customers develop a strong emotional bond with your business. Even more, he provides you with key information on how to do it. You start by wearing a customer hat to work each day. Look at your business as your customers see it and get rid of everything that stands between your customer and his caring about your company.

I also like they way he understands the benefits of CRM, but shows so clearly about why it is inadequate. A repeat customer isn't a loyal customer. And a customer focused company is not a customer centric company. Targeting marketing messages cannot substitute for a powerful personal connection. His discussion of why lateral extensions are more useful in creating customer connections than linear extensions is among the best in the book.

Just terrific stuff. You won't go wrong by reading and implementing what Mr. Barnes has provided for you here.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical and straight forward approach to the customer., March 23, 2007

By 

D. Evans (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships (Hardcover)

Once again, Jim Barnes has written a straight forward guide on building customer relationships. In simple terms- wear the customer hat and listen. Using the emotional connection as the foundation of the relationship, Jim has provided detailed explanations and examples on the strength of creating true, lasting relationships with customers. We have all been in the position of a truly happy customer where we have told others about our experience. Jim Barnes has studied this experience and has given the reader the examples and explanations so that we can try to create this kind of a company- a truly customer focussed company.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Build Your Customer Strategy, March 16, 2007

By 

L. Williams (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Build Your Customer Strategy: A Guide to Creating Profitable Customer Relationships (Hardcover)

One of the best, easy to understand well written books on the subject of Customer service excellence. Dr. Jim Barnes left out all the industry jargon and catch phrases to keep this book readable. This subject has been abused by thousands of "customer service experts" over the years but Dr. Barnes' approach is so different he makes you want to read this book cover to cover and appreciate what he has to share. I strongly recommend this book to all business owners in the service and retail industries.