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Overpromise and Overdeliver: The Secrets of Unshakable Customer Loyalty (Hardcover)

by Rick Barrera (Author) "HARD TIMES CREATE amazing successes..." (more)
Key Phrases: unique brand promise, new brand promise, frontline people, Pottery Barn, Container Store, New York (more...)
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Barrera, a marketing consultant, showcases remarkable businesses that have succeeded in making their brands irresistible to customers with a new approach to branding that is faster and more cost-effective than traditional methods and results in "owning" their respective markets. Citing companies such as American Girl, Google, and TiVo, the author explains how to create and keep breakthrough brand promise and how to master the use of three distinct contact points to deliver that promise. He coins the word TouchPoint to describe the key moments of interaction between a customer and a brand. Product TouchPoints are a big promise about the product or service delivered in a big way, Human TouchPoints occur with direct contact through sales and service, and System TouchPoints are process encounters. All TouchPoints are vital to success. While clearly an infomercial for Barrera's business, this is an excellent book that identifies important marketing strategies for today's complicated and competitive marketplace. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Companies like American Girl, Best Buy, Washington Mutual, and TiVo came out of nowhere to virtually own their respective markets. How did they scoop their bigger and wealthier competition? It wasn’t through a fat marketing budget. It was because they kept their promises . . . and not just any promises, but dangerously ambitious promises. In fact, these companies overpromised to lure customers in—and then overdelivered to keep them.

Rick Barrera, a respected marketing consultant and business lecturer, has studied these word-of-mouth-driven successes and concluded that they are masters of what he calls TouchPoint Branding—the art of making sure that every point of contact between a company and its customers is well executed and fulfills an over-the-top brand promise.

Barrera explains how TouchPoint Branding’s three major components—Product TouchPoints, System TouchPoints, and Human TouchPoints—can create dramatic market differentiation. The companies featured in the book start with an extraordinary product (like the Hummer), supported by smoothly running systems (like the Sumerset Houseboats Web site), and add satisfying human contact (like the service at an American Girl store).

It’s an old cliché in business that smart companies underpromise and overdeliver. But in today’s crowded market, that’s not enough. Barrera’s insights and case studies can help any company overpromise . . . and still overdeliver.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (December 29, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1591840619
  • ISBN-13: 978-1591840619
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,469 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #57 in  Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Product Management

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
HARD TIMES CREATE amazing successes. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
unique brand promise, new brand promise, frontline people, brand promises
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Pottery Barn, Container Store, New York, Blue Man, Cardiac Science, Washington Mutual, Edward Jones, Fast Company, United States, Home Depot, Yellow Roadway, Altec Lansing, Blue Men, Immediate Response, Los Angeles, Starbucks Card, Yvon Chouinard, Feargal Quinn, Mark Johnston, Orville Redenbacher, Rider's Edge, Brad Davis, Commerce Bancorp, Communication Coach, Dave Illingworth
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars New Twist to Catapult You Forward, May 9, 2005
By Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
"Under promise and over deliver." That phrase has been around long enough to become a cliché. Cliché concepts get old, unless someone comes along with a radical change and turns the cliché inside out. Enter Rick Barrera, a well-known marketing guru. People like this stretch our thinking, pushing us out of the envelope and tromping on the box in the meantime. If you listen to their messages, you will have difficulty staying "inside the box."

Barrera does not disappoint. Emphasizing "touch points," the intimate contact with the customer that can win-or lose-the day, he demonstrates how companies can go beyond the ordinary and fulfill the expectations they create in the mind of the consumer.

This book is organized into two sections: Overpromise and Underdeliver. The first section engages the reader in a discussion of brand promises, how they drive company growth, and ways that well-framed brand promises differentiate companies in the marketplace. Barrera's educational writing is well-seasoned with recent real-world examples.

In the opening pages of his book, Barrera introduces the concept of touch points-those special, meaningful moments where the customer comes in contact with the company. Three types of TouchPoints (Barrera's spelling) are presented. "Product TouchPoints occur where customers interact with the product or service a company is selling." "Human TouchPoints occur when the customer directly interacts with an organization's people." "System TouchPoints include all other points of contact between a company and its customers." The author explains each type of interaction and his views about their importance. "All three TouchPoints are vital to an organization's success, though to differing degrees. All three require a substantial and continuing investment of funds and managerial energy if they are to do their job properly..." The TouchPoint concept reminded me of Jan Carlson's work with Scandanavian Airlines years ago. Good lessons bear repeating.

The second section concentrates on meeting and exceeding customer expectations with each of the categories of TouchPoints. Two case studies, Washington Mutual Insurance Company and Lexus, illustrate the concepts before a concluding chapter and close into the index at the back of the book.

The book is filled with advice, examples, and inspiration that will be valuable to anyone in marketing today. Beyond this highly appropriate reader group, I would recommend that corporate executives pay careful attention to the book's messages. The concepts will be valuable to recruiters-corporate, college, and military-as well as to educators in all environments. The lessons conveyed in "Over Promise and Over Deliver" will be valuable to many people for many years. This is a book for our times.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Principles Apply To and Extend Beyond Customer Service, January 21, 2005
By John M. (Colorado) - See all my reviews
Companies identified in Overpromise and Overdeliver are recognizable and well known for providing what the Author defines as TouchPoint Branding. The use of short case studies helps readers understand how and which TouchPoint(s) make each company successful.

What challenged my thinking was how the 3 Touchpoints (product, systems, and human) apply to other elements of business (internal department relationships for example) and personal relationships.

Excellent read to stimulate thinking!
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, January 7, 2005
By Amy Shuss (San Diego) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
My husband bought this book, and I intended to pick it up just to see what it was about. But once I started reading it I became more and more interested and didn't want to put it down. I found it facinating to read about companies and products that have been successful and WHY! Mr. Barrera examines a broad array of companies, from Southwest Airlines to TiVo to The Container Store, and presents a compelling argument that they all have the same, two prong reason for success: (1) OVERPROMISE, by offering a unique product and (2) OVERDELIVER, by living up to your promise all the time. I found this book extremely interesting and exceedingly accessible to read. I do not have a strong marketing background but Mr. Barrera presents his material so that anyone can take home his message. I think that if you are in retail or marketing or product development or the service industry OR JUST A CONSUMER, you will be enlightened by this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The game of managing customer expectations
Today's customers expect two things to happen when buying and consuming a product: the fulfillment of all of the product's highest promises and the pleasure of being delighted... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Sacramento Book Review

4.0 out of 5 stars TouchPoints are good, but it's only one way
I saw Rick speak at a conference and I got his book shortly after. The content it good. He's right in that creating a series of TouchPoints in your business is necessary. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Cory Halbardier

5.0 out of 5 stars Promise too Much...And Keep the Promise!
We've all heard the slogan, "underpromise and overdeliver"--but Barrera points out that doing so weakens the marketing. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Shel Horowitz

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless
I first read Rick's book about a year ago. Since then, I have referred to it on several occasions. The information he offers is applicable now and will be just as valuable as the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Peter George

5.0 out of 5 stars Overpromise and Overdeliver: The Secrets of Unshakable Customer Loyalty
"Over Promise and Over Deliver" This phrase sounds like a line used by a used car dealer. Don't all businesses try to give big promises just to get your money? Read more
Published 24 months ago by Tami Brady

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!
Author Rick Barrera presents a credible, reasonably creative perspective on how your business can distinguish itself in a market that is saturated with advertising. Read more
Published on August 31, 2005 by Rolf Dobelli

5.0 out of 5 stars Sage advice
I agree with Barrera that customer service will drive many if not most American businesses from now on. Read more
Published on February 11, 2005 by magellan

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderlul book for retention of customers.
The case examples in this book provide compelling reading. In particular, the study of Tivo captivated me. Read more
Published on February 11, 2005 by Ronald Levy

5.0 out of 5 stars Produce Real Value
The era of cost cutting is gone. Profit and growth must come by delivering outstanding value that brings deep customer loyalty, higher price points, and greater market share... Read more
Published on February 2, 2005 by Andrew D. Longman

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