Addicted Customers (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Much has been written and discussed about building stronger customer relationships, especially in relation to trust and loyalty. But a huge component has been missing, until now. ADDICTED CUSTOMERS provides you with information you have seen nowhere else. Based on solid research in psychology, combined with real world methodologies, you will learn the two distinct buying personalities that customers employ, and how to help avoid the triggers that "turn on" the less desirable personality.

You will also learn strategies to engage the personality that leads to loyalty and commitment, and the psychological prindiples that underlie compelling customer experiences. The book is full of real world examples of successful companies that apply these principles. In a era of abundance and overwhelming choice, customer relationships, not products, are the most important source of competitive differentiation. The good news is that customers really do want trusting and close relationships. They want these types of bonds because they reduce stress and help them adapt to a rapidly changing world. ADDICTED CUSTOMERS shows you how to build trust and loyalty in business relationships, and why companies need to recognize the emotional power of the customer experience.

From the Inside Flap

How do you get customers hooked on your company? The answer begins with the psychological principles that underlie compelling customer experiences.

ADDICTED CUSTOMERS adds a new dimension to the rapidly growing field of Customer Experience Management (CEM). CEM practioners typically place a heavy emphasis on making the selling environment more appealing, an essential first step. This book lays out a psycho-economic framework to enhance these CEM pursuits, and spells out the business strategies to put these principles into action.

Most importantly, it provides a strategic platform to apply CEM to product/service consumption, the aspect of experiences that is critically important to customers. Loyalty accrues because customers value not just what the company has done for them but what the relationship can do for them in the future.

The implication of emotional and consumptive value are clear in the business-to-consumer sector, but the strategies outlined in the book are equally powerful in a business-to-business context.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Silverado Press (January 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934198315
• ISBN-13: 978-1934198315
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,005,787 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CRM on Steroids: Move Your Organization from Customer Relationship to Customer Experience Management, February 22, 2007

By	Blake Hendrix (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In his appealing new book, Addicted Customers, John I. Todor, Ph.D. prescribes the path to build CEM in your business model. Based upon his academic training as a Psychologist and as a Marketing Professional serving small business and Fortune 500 clients, he describes the nature of profitable customer experience and how to achieve the Holy Grail of clientele; the addicted customer.

While customer relationship management (CRM) is concerned with managing data, customer experience management (CEM) addresses building a loyal client base where repeat business is the goal. Todor applies basic psychology in defining and differentiating between needs based selling and creating high-level desire in the customer for your product or service. The text carries both the authority of the body of work in the field and numerous real-world examples of CEM in practice. Apple's iPod, Hewlett-Packard and Starbucks are fine examples of his thesis. In fact, Todor points out that the very tools Starbucks used to create addicted customers may be lost as they continue store expansion.

Addicted Customers recognizes the difference between commodity products, value added product and service, bargain hunters and engaged or addicted customers. While he does not dwell on the proof that addicted customers are the most beneficial for business, he does make the point that even commodity products can satisfy a customer's desire versus only his needs. Chapter Five, in particular, Figure 5.1, discusses the tradeoff between cost and repeat business against the backdrop of customer profile.

Todor concludes his analysis in Chapter 10 defining the steps to elicit desire, a sense of belonging and ultimately customer value or equity. Figure 10.1 gives a roadmap for the journey defined by the keywords: Attract, Connect, Engage and Convert. To create value or equity, a business must attract customers to the model, connect with the customer's psychological desire, engage those desires and convert that customer into a loyal partner that considers your business as part of his core being; part of who the customer is. A main point Todor brings forward is often overlooked or ignored by business; the apogee of win-win in creating desire and a sense of belonging.

With its uncommon perspective, Addicted Customers is an effective addition to the medicine chest of business professionals at all levels in formulating and executing marketing strategy. It is another great way to think out of the box.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addicted to Addicted Customers, December 13, 2006

By	Linda Sharp - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You are about to be addicted to Addicted Customers! You'll find yourself buying more like I am for business people you CARE about. John Todor brings amazing clarity to why we behave as we do as consumers--how we gravitate to businesses where we are cared for, why we'll pay more for that experience. There are powerful lessons here for everyone in business.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended Reading, December 9, 2006

By	Crystal O. Todor "Business Management Professor" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Addicted Customers has changed the way I view customers. John Todor has provided a cogent argument for focusing on the customer experience. His approachable style makes complex psychological concepts clear and meaningful. In addition to giving me insight into my own buying behaviors, this book sheds a whole new light on marketing to today's customer. The book has a wealth of ideas and examples that help the reader apply the concepts and build a unique marketing strategy.