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Don't Just Relate - Advocate!: A Blueprint for Profit in the Era of Customer Power

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In this Internet Age, consumers know everything about your company and its products.

Glen Urban, a member of the MIT Sloan School of Management faculty since 1966, Deputy Dean at the school from 1987 to 1992, and Dean from 1993 to 1998 posits that the only way to earn their trust is to provide them with open, honest and complete information - even if that means finding the right competitor's product to meet their needs.

In the face of this increasing consumer power, your company has three options:
1. Respond with the traditional marketing push and pull. In other words, increase pull by upping your advertising budget. Increase your push by employing price and promotional policies. These have been the mainstay of marketing for more than 50 years.
2. Strengthen your customer relationships. In recent years companies have refocused on their customers by emphasizing customer satisfaction metrics, staying on message, building better products using TQM and emphasizing more personal service.
3. The final option is to advocate for your customer. This means you give your customers and prospects complete, open and honest information so they can find the product which best serves their needs. This is a dialogue. The goal with this option is to have customers reciprocate with their trust, purchases and loyalty.

Although it may require a complete cultural marketing make-over, Urban says the benefits of advocacy are worth the investment:
1. Reduced customer acquisition costs. Trust lowers the number of new customers company must acquire to maintain its growth projection.
2. Higher Profit margins. Customers are willing to pay more for quality products from vendors they trust.
3. Growth. When a company becomes a trust vendor, customers look to that firm for more products and services in more categories.
4. Advocacy lays the foundation for long-term customer advantage.

Not only is Urban's thesis persuasive, he also shows how to determine whether an advocacy-based strategy is right for your firm. He ten takes the strategy the next step and shows how to build the trust required. The MIT professor provides you with new tools and identifies the leadership skills and cross-functional requirements needed to develop a successful response to this rise of consumer power.

In the age of information, it is little surprise that the majority of a businesses customers know what is under the sheets. The internet, cable news and business channels, even a more in tune population all make the walls of most business as see through as a window. This is why the author claims that if you are not a true advocate for your customers, then you will see continue market share erosion because there is some on out there that has become an advocate. Earning the trust of your customers is as important, if not more then offering the best or cheapest et all, product or service. If you earn and keep a persons trust, then the business will take care of its self. So are the thoughts of this author.

He states that most forward looking companies are pursuing customer advocacy. They are the companies that are providing customers with open honest and complete information. They truly represent their customers best interests, not just trying to get another sale. Overall I could not argue the authors points. He pulls together a nice list of case studies and personal examples that lead you to believe that his way is the wave of the future. Just looking at it from a customers point of view, this is how we all want to be treated. I enjoyed the book. It moves fast and provides easy to digest examples. This book is a look at the future, either you hop on board this band wagon or be left in the dust.

Glen Urban's latest book, "Don't just relate-Advocate" anticipates the seismic shift in market dynamics already underfoot and the resulting tsunami of emerging customer power that is already crashing in on our lives, due in large part to the sea change enabled by Internet technologies.

Looking back years from now, pundits and historians will identify this pivot point in business history, when "caveat emptor" began its slow death and "power to the people" was not simply a political mantra but a business reality.

Value-based organizations and their visionary leaders ("we can all lead from where we stand") will be well served to explore whether customer advocacy and the trust imperative are central tenets of their strategy, tactics, and organizational DNA, and if the answer is a resounding "yes" then Dr. Urban has provided us with a compelling roadmap for the years ahead.

Glen's thought leadership with respect to trust-based marketing, advocacy, and advise-based technologies has been instrumental in fueling our passion for, as well as, creation and implementation of a member advocacy culture at Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego.

Consumers today are far smarter than we think...
But don't take my word for it, read the book and arrive at your own conclusions.

Neville Billimoria
Senior Vice President/Membership & Chief Advocacy Officer
Mission Federal Credit Union
San Diego California, USA

“What would you do if your customers knew everything about your company and your competitors’ products and services-even your disadvantages?” Glen Urban says that “The rise of the Internet enables your customers to find-third party information about your products, ratings of your products, people who was ever dissatisfied with your products or services, and the same full information on your competitors’ offerings. On the Internet, your company, your biggest competitor, and the smallest unknown upstart competitor are the same distance from the customer. Each is only an online search away. The Internet has enabled an unprecedented increase in consumer power!” He continues, “Customer power is growing, and you must decide what to do about it! I propose that you advocate for your customers and earn their trust. In this book, I will show you why you should do this, how you can do this, and what other leading edge companies are doing in this arena. In taking my own advice and advocating for my readers, I will also explain how you can tell if trust and advocacy are not right for your company.”

In this context, in the chapter five, Glen Urban examines a new trust methodology based on “Theory A” (A is for Advocacy) as an answer to increasing customer power, and contrast it to “Theory P” (P is for Push/Pull marketing) as following;

I. Seven Rules of Theory P - Traditional Push/Pull Marketing:

1. Caveat emptor
2. Spend heavily on advertising and selling
3. Maximize your market position
4. Compete aggressively on price and offer different prices to different customers
5. Build quality products and provide good service
6. Get sales results
7. Measure sales and market share

Assumptions about customers:

1. Customers avoid decision-making responsibility
2. Customers are passive and must be coerced
3. Customers have difficulty learning and prefer to be influenced
4. Customers have little imagination

II. Seven Rules of Theory A:

1. Advocate for your customers
2. Invest heavily in product superiority
3. Create value
4. Work together to design products
5. Make fulfillment flawless
6. Be loyal to your customers
7. Measure the long-run strength of relationship with your customers

Assumptions about customers:

1. Customer decision-making is natural
2. Customers are active and want to control the buying process
3. Customers prefer to learn and make an informed decision
4. Customers have imagination, ingenuity, and creativity

In this chapter, finally, Glen Urban says that “The first question is, “What should I do about customer power?” Your answer could be push/pull marketing or customer advocacy. Your decision will depend upon the way you view your customers, so you need to ask, “What assumptions-related questions to ask are: “Do I assume that my customers are active or passive decision makers?” “Do I assume they are proactive or that they need to be coerced into buying?” Next, think about strategy and ask, “Should I base my marketing on Theory P or Theory A?” Innovative firms are beginning to operate under Theory A. Should you?”

I highly recommend this invaluable study.

Modern forms of communication give customers the option to find the best deal in a matter of seconds and to register dissatisfaction in more ways than you can count. The only viable solution that businesses have is to accept this state of affairs and to incorporate that knowledge into their business plans. Unless you somehow have a corner on the market, to do otherwise is to risk the destruction of your business.
Urban clearly understands this situation and provides excellent advice on how to acquire and retain customers. First and foremost, you must earn and maintain their trust. Even the best run businesses will occasionally make mistakes and without the trust of the customer, a simple mistake can cause them to take their business elsewhere. Trust is earned in many ways; it starts with honesty and quality and is reinforced by a policy of customer advocacy that avoids committing trust-busting actions. The traditional "push/pull" marketing, where advertising is often "in your face" is no longer an appropriate business strategy. One of the worst examples of this is the popup ad that is so common on web pages. Nearly everyone is angered by these ads and I am one of many people who note the company being advertised and vow to never give them any business.
In the early days of the twentieth century, "caveat emptor" or "buyer beware" was the phrase used to justify arrogant business behavior in the United States. The implementation of federal government regulations was necessary before consumers could trust the quality of their purchases. Beginning in the last days of the twentieth century, consumer power increased dramatically, and the business that ignores this power places its' very survival at risk. Consumer trust must now be earned and by reading this book, you will learn how to thrive in this new environment.

Glen Urban is someone you need to listen to. His experience with the area of Marketing in and out of academia has earned him the right to introduce new and bold ideas that may signal the way of the future. In "Don't Just Relate -Advocate!" he does exactly that, beginning by acknowledging that we are living a new age, where customers are in power and traditional marketing paradigms, such as push/pull schemes or more recent CRM-based approaches fail to succeed as they used to before. In the face of the abundance of options, information and simplicity of conducting business, all of which obey to the penetration and evolution that the Internet has accomplished, companies that want to continue to thrive have to seriously consider trust and advocacy-based marketing -the new paradigm he presents- as the option to pursue.

He describes the model he proposes in detail, providing those interested in exploring it further with tools to apply to their own settings all the way from an initial assessment of their firm's situation to tips on how to have the model permeate into the different functional areas of the company, to give it the needed foundations it needs to succeed. While he clarifies that he doesn't feel advocacy is for every situation/company, he later counterargues with what he calls the Advocacy Imperative: "If you do not do it, your competitors will!", further confirming his conviction that this is the one way winners will be left to take in the future, if they want to continue to win.

Overall, this is a very good book, with plenty of practical examples from the author's research and consulting experience, for readers to relate with, regardless of their industry. The book is very well structured, exciting and appealing, and though it does repeat previously cited examples once in a while, for the most part, it keeps you engaged through its entirety. As for me, I intend to share the learnings from it with my peers and higher ups.

It's always good to see renewed interest in marketing frameworks and the different approaches used. Without this, the subject is just pretty boring. Excellent job by Dr. Urban. This is a fantastic book. It definitely gets you thinking. If you look to compete in the world starting, say, next week, I would suggest that you not just read this book, but study it. This is not an overnight read, nor should it be.

Urban makes cogent observations as to why companies should try to act in their customers' best interests; hence the "advocacy" in the title. He points out that the Internet has shifted power to the customer in 3 ways - more information, more options and simpler (or easier) transactions. He then gives several examples of companies moving in this direction.

But there is another example he could have cited here which may be especially apropos, since you are reading this review. The example is Amazon. When searching for a book, it gives a huge amount of information, including reviews. But amongst the extra options Amazon offers is its Marketplace of third party sellers. This was a very hard decision for them to implement, because, unlike eBay, they would be offering the same items as other sellers. But since they would get a commission from the latter sales, they could still garner revenue.

Another advantage Amazon offered, over eBay, and which falls in the rubric of simpler transactions, is that buyers send their credit card information to Amazon. Much easier and safer than an eBay transaction.

While the book in a later chapter discusses how Amazon offers more information to customers, the previous two reasons could have been further discussed. As these lead to a very simple illustration of Urban's argument.

Customer knowledge and power has changed drastically over the last few years and using the same old marketing methods is a sure formula for failure. That is the basic premise of this book and the author makes a compelling argument while also providing a blueprint for how to adapt to this change. One of the ways that the market has changed drastically is the level of education of the consumer. With the Internet and easy access to information on your company, competitors, and even opinions from your clients or competitors the customer can find out anything they need to know about you or your company.

Instead of selling the potential customer we need to be an advocate for them. That means telling them not only the good things about your service or product but also the weaknesses. Being up front about everything builds trust and trust builds loyal customers. Throughout the book the author argues that by building trust the customer advocate gains several major benefits. Among these are reduced customer acquisition costs, higher profit margins, and a long-term competitive edge. I particularly appreciated the fact that the author followed his own advice and pointed out industries where advocacy makes the biggest difference and where advocacy is unlikely to make much difference. Don't Just Relate - Advocate is a highly recommended read and should be required reading for anyone involved in regular contact with your customers or potential customers.

Traditional "push-pull" marketing no longer works. Even highly-touted customer relationship initiatives are failing. Smart companies are pioneering an entirely new route to higher margins and sustainable competitive advantage: customer advocacy. In Don't Just Relate -- Advocate, Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer, and MIT's Glen Urban reveals how customer advocacy works, why it works, and how to make it work for your company.

This is not about "relationship marketing," a common buzzword among marketers today. Customer advocacy means faithfully representing your customers' interests. It means giving them open, honest, and complete information (because they'll discover the truth no matter what you do). It means talking with them, not at them. And it requires a massive transformation in both your culture and your processes. Now, one of the world's leading marketing innovators shows why you must make that transformation - and how to make it work.

Urban discusses eight elements of customer advocacy, from transparency to partnership, and answers long-asked questions to help readers identify and overcome most significant obstacles. Questions like:

* Why are your customers now driving the relationship?

* Why don't they respond to conventional marketing anymore?

* Do your customers trust you?

* How can you measure and change perceptions?

Then, drawing on new case studies, he shows how to align culture, metrics, incentives, and organization, driving effective advocacy throughout your entire organization.

Urban covers the entire "pyramid" of customer advocacy: the "base" (starting with TQM and customer satisfaction initiatives); the "middle" (relationship marketing); and the "pinnacle": new advocacy techniques built on trust - not coercion. Drawing on the latest customer-advocacy initiatives at firms such as GM, Intel, Qwest, and John Deere, he identifies crucial lessons for earning, keeping, and profiting from customer trust.

"Establishing a reputation for customer trust, transparency, and advice will be the new differentiator. Congratulations to Glen Urban for moving 'best marketing practice' up a notch," says Philip Kotler, author of numerous marketing books and author of the definitive textbook on marketing management, now in its 12th edition.

In today's environment, you must build unprecedented trust among customers who have more information, options, and sophistication than ever. You must transcend relationship marketing to focus on maximizing customer interests and deepening customer partnerships. It's not easy. But if you do it, you gain immense opportunities your competitors simply can't touch.

Trust is not only for customers. Making great decisions means that employees have the belief and venue to speak their minds and a corporate culture that allows for that kind of constructive discourse. Leaders hear 'yes' far too often. They don't hear bad news until it's too late. They get groupthink, not reality. They think they've achieved consensus, then find their decisions undermined by colleagues who never really bought in. They become isolated: even high-risk or illegal actions can go unquestioned. It's an enormous problem: for leaders, for teams, for the entire organization. But is it inevitable? Absolutely not.