What Customers Really Want : How to Bridge the Gap Between What Your Organization Offers and What Your Clients Crave [Hardcover]

Scott McKain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2005

Scott McKain's experience as vice chairman of a rapidly growing $100 million organization, and his client relationships with the world's leading organizations, have convinced him that there is a stunning difference between what customers want and what most organizations offer. This widening gulf creates dissatisfaction, distrust, and-worst of all for any business-disloyalty.

What customers really want today is a superior client experience. Sure, they want good service, a good product, and a good price. But what creates client loyalty is the connection created by organizations through the use of these elements along with personalization, differentiation, and emotion.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (August 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785211985
• ISBN-13: 978-0785211983
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,443,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Business Thinker. Platform Original. Bestselling Author.
Scott McKain's calling is business - but his passion is the platform.

Capturing the ideas that created three Amazon.com #1 business bestsellers, Scott McKain presents cutting-edge ideas with razor-sharp clarity for audiences around the world.

Scott McKain's book, "Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out and Move Up While Your Competition Fails" was named one of the "Ten Best Business Books" of the year by the Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, and numerous other major publications.

His previous books, "ALL Business is Show Business" and "What Customers REALLY Want" take a groundbreaking approach to assist organizations and professionals deliver what Scott calls the "Ultimate Customer Experience ®."

He is also the Co-founder and Principal of The Value Added Institute, a think-tank that examines the role of the customer experience in creating significant advances in the level of client loyalty. He has been honored with induction into the "Professional Speakers Hall of Fame" -- and is a member of the "Speakers Roundtable," an elite group of twenty business speakers considered by many to be among the best in the world.

He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Safety Council and the National Speakers Association. He has been named as a "Hoosier Hero" in his home state because of his commitment to youth and philanthropy.

Scott McKain has made multiple appearances on FOX News Network as an Analyst and Commentator. His platform presentations have run the gamut from the White House lawn with the President in the audience carried live on CNN and NBC's "Today" show...to a remote outpost near the Amazon...all 50 states, seven Canadian provinces...and from Singapore to Sweden...Mexico to Morocco.

From a one-hour keynote and full-day intensive seminars -- to consulting and live online events -- many leading organizations seek Scott McKain to provide the critical education and insight that changes behavior and grows organizations AND people.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Organization and Layout Serves 3 Key Purposes, August 29, 2005

By 

Dianna Booher "Author, Speak with Confidence... (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Customers Really Want : How to Bridge the Gap Between What Your Organization Offers and What Your Clients Crave (Hardcover)

Our training company has presented 2-day programs on customer service for 25 years--so I'm very familiar with most of the books out there on this subject. McKain's book stands out for three key reasons: 1) The slant or focus of the book is fresh--it focuses on customer experience, not customer service (read that "customer processing." 2) It has a helpful, extensive Executive Summary at the end of each chapter. Not your typical 2-paragraph ending, but a 3-page summary with the guts of the chapters netted out for a quick skim. 3) The "Bridge Building" section at the end of each chapter contains a long list of actionable items--perfect for developing training modules and saying to your customer service or call center manager: "Go thou and do likewise." In short, it's an engaging, impressive book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must read for any organization that wants to grow their business, October 19, 2011

By 

Ford Saeks "Ford Saeks, CEO Prime Concepts Gr... (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Customers Really Want: Bridging the Gap Between What Your Company Offers and What Your Clients Crave (Paperback)

Just got done reading this book, and have already recommended it to my mastermind group of CEO's. It's filled with ideas about bridging the gap between what most organizations deliver to their customers and what those customers really desire in today's marketplace. I then visited his website at [...] and we are considering him for our next Business Growth Summit Event. I liked this book because it was a quick read and each chapter contained an executive summary with specific action steps that we could apply immediately to improve our results. My favorite idea was How to Create a Continuous, Compelling Advantage for my organization. It's moved us to examine where our true competitive points of differentiation are from the customer's prospective.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Excellent Book by Scott McKain, May 7, 2009

By 

M. Wischmeier (Seymour, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Customers Really Want : How to Bridge the Gap Between What Your Organization Offers and What Your Clients Crave (Hardcover)

This book does an excellent job of pointing out the common misconceptions businesses have about what they think their customers want compared to what they really need. I don't know that I would say it is a wake-up call to all business owners and/or professionals (certainly it is for some), but it is definitely a much needed reminder to constantly evaluate what we are really doing and to make the necessary changes to meet the needs of our customers.