Wired and Dangerous: How Your Customers Have Changed and What to Do

Zusatztext 57522396 Informationen zum Autor Chip R. Bell is a senior partner with the Chip Bell Group, which consults with organizations on strategies that support long-term customer loyalty. A renowned keynote speaker, he is the author or coauthor of bestsellers such as Magnetic Service, Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service, and Service Magic. John R. Patterson is founder and president of Progressive Insights, a Chip Bell Group affiliate. His consulting practice helps organizations worldwide consistently deliver great customer experiences that create devoted customers. He is the coauthor, with Chip Bell, of the bestselling Take Their Breath Away and Customer Loyalty Guaranteed. Klappentext In an era of economic stress, rapid change, and social networking, customers are distracted, disgruntled, and harder to please than ever. Picky, Fickle, Vocal, Wired, and Vain - they have very little tolerance for error and are ready to spread the word quickly over the internet when things go wrong. If a company's customer service doesn't adapt to these new conditions, they will get burned by bloggers and viral videos that can severely damage their reputation. This book describes exactly what today's customers expect and how to give it to them. In Wired and Dangerous , Bell and Patterson provide a tested formula for restoring balance to the customer relationship by establishing what they call "Service Calm". The three steps to Service Calm sound simple, but they draw on sophisticated psychological principles and are profound in application: 1) Deal with Self, 2) Deal with Customer, 3) Deal with Context. How the Service Covenant Became Corrupted The service covenant has been around for centuries. It is grounded in the concept of the direct or implied pledge of fair bartering—a merchant provides a product or service in exchange for some type of remuneration. Energy might be spent on either side of the covenant as to the fairness of the exchange (server spending energy on promotion; customer spending energy on getting perceived worth), but the essence of the agreement remained intact. There was a promise implied on both sides of the encounter The covenant for a product was different from the covenant for a service. Customers gave the product provider license to make the product without their participation, or even observation. You did not need to watch the maker of your basket or your dishwasher; you could trust it would be as promised. The tangible nature of an object made the determination of quality easier. As customers, we expected the product would be as described and we had recourse if it was not—typically the object could be returned for a replacement or our coconuts or coins would be returned if it failed to meet the value we were promised. Replacement meant another object like the one we purchased was taken from inventory and given to us. In this fashion the covenant could be restored. The service covenant has some similarities. There were expectations of features and benefits, as for a product. Energy around promotion and price was also similar. However, since service was largely experiential, it could not be stockpiled, inventoried, or sent back for a replacement. Consequently, recourse for a broken promise could not be in kind. Displeasure with your haircut might get you a discount on your next one but there was no way to get your hair back like it was. So, what was the recourse hardwired into the service covenant? The customer derived some comfort or security through the fact that service would be delivered through an experience which the customer co-created with the service provider. The inclusion of nods, clicks, sounds, and sighs both from customer and service provider during the co-creation process provided customers a way to be the guardian of their side of the transaction. As a haircut customer you could say “Not so much on the sides!” ear...

List of contents

Part One The Situation
Welcome to Turbulent Times!
1 How the Service Covenant Became Corrupted
2 Picky: Why Today s Customers Are Finicky
3 Fickle: Why Today s Customers Are Capricious
4 Vocal: Why Today s Customers Are Noisy
5 Vain: Why Today s Customers Are Self-Centered

Part Two The Resolution
Spark: The Mouse That Is Roaring
6 How the Service Covenant Can Be Rebalanced
7 Grounding: How to Balance Yourself for Partnership
8 Connection: How to Help Customers Feel Like Partners
9 Bad Connections: How to Turn Angry Customers into Partners
10 Wireless Connections: How to Partner with Customers via the Internet
11 Congruence: How to Get the Service Setting in Balance
12 Acumen: How to Keep the Customer Relationship in Balance

Part Three Suggestions for Partnering with Customers
Flash Drive: Tools and Favorites
Tools
# 1 For Calming Customer Crackpots, Bullies, and Militants
# 2 For Serving When Customer Pain Must Be Involved
# 3 For Giving Great Lateral Service
# 4 For Service Leadership in Turbulent Times
# 5 For Crafting a Really Cool Service Vision
# 6 For a Great Emotional Connection with Customers
# 7 For Conducting a Truly Focused Focus Group
# 8 For Serving as an Expert
# 9 For Serving in the Dark Like a Partner
#10 For Firing a Customer
# 11 For Conducting Customer Forensics
# 12 For Determining If Your Service Process Is Unwell
# 13 For Adding Decoration to the Service Experience
# 14 For Designing a Survey Your Customers Will Actually Complete
Favorites
Best Books for Understanding the Wired and Dangerous Customer
Best Websites for Understanding the Wired and Dangerous Customer
Favorite Service Quotes
Twenty Things Today s Wired and Dangerous Customers Really Want
Favorite Metaphor for Turning Dangerous Customers into Advocates
A Poem on Customers as Partners
Notes
Bibliography
Thanks
Index
About the Authors

Report

"At Zappos, we found that the more we invested in customer service, the more loyal our customers became. Wired and Dangerous can help anyone interested in delivering happiness to today's Internet-empowered customer."
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, Inc. and author of the #1 NY Times best-selling author of Delivering Happiness

provocative insight, an irresistible page turnings look at the empowered customer.
Lou Dobbs

"Bell and Patterson explain how to master the new service paradigm a partnership between you and your customers. Their rich stories and practical advice will prepare you to give up the control needed to make these partnership covenants succeed." 
Charlene Li, author of Open Leadership and co-author of the best-selling Groundswell 

"As Chip and John relay in this book, a good customer relationship is governed by honesty, caring, forgiving, lack of judgment, flexibility, and a willingness to try again. If leaders brought these values to the workplace the world would indeed be a better place .and customers would be happier too.  
--- Cheryl A. Bachelder, CEO, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

"Wired and Dangerous should be mandatory reading for anyone with a customer!  The only downside would be a reduction in the creation of viral YouTube Music videos!"
Dave Carroll, singer/songwriter and creator of "United Breaks Guitars"

When you include your customers in your business you build an army that grows your business for you.  Using their mouse, voice and influence they will become your greatest megaphone!   Chip and John show how the new normal customer can create the prosperity all businesses desire.  
Jeanne Bliss, author of Chief Customer Officer and I Love You More than My Dog: Five Decisions for Extreme Customer Loyalty

"Wired and Dangerous provides powerful, cutting edge solutions for turning today's restless customers into loyal advocates who ensure growth and increased profits. A must read!"
Daniel Burrus, author of the best-selling Flash Foresight

Chip and John have taught our company the power of turning satisfied customers into advocates. Their lessons in Wired and Dangerous lead to effective strategies for creating loyalty among today's demanding customers." 
Carrie Freeman Parsons, Vice Chair, Freeman

Wired and Dangerous is a wake-up call to business leaders about how today's
empowered customers can build or destroy brands in record time. Buy it and use the insights and tools to deliver loyalty-building customer service experiences.
Bob Thompson, Founder and CEO, CustomerThink

"Serving customers has never been more challenging; new generations with different values; new channels; new technologies. Chip Bell and John Patterson argue that to make sense of this we need a new covenant with customers as usual they are spot on." 
Shaun Smith, author of Bold: How to Be Brave in Business and Win.

This will be on the test:  If you want customers to come and play in your backyard, read Wired and Dangerous and then deliver what Chip and John will teach you.
Jim Blasingame, Host of the Small Business Advocate® Show

"Whether through personal anecdotes or insightful research, Chip and John have succeeded in providing the sobering truth the consumer is more empowered than ever before and expectations for service have changed.  They provide meaningful advice on how you can still succeed." 
Jay Karen, President and CEO, Professional Association of Innkeepers International

Product details

• Authors: Chip R Bell, Chip R. Bell, John Patterson, John R Patterson, John R. Patterson
• Publisher: Berrett Koehler Publishers
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.05.2011
• EAN: 9781605099750
• ISBN: 978-1-60509-975-0
• No. of pages: 264
• Dimensions: 140 mm x 216 mm x 19 mm
• Subject: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Advertising, marketing