Your Customer Rules! (PDF)

What you need to know about your customers

Now more than ever, every interaction you have with customers is
critical. Customers today have unlimited information at their
fingertips--and can influence the purchase decisions and
behaviors of millions of others. With this comes a shift in the
balance of power, and every company must come to terms with the
fact that the customer is in control. Interacting with customers in
the way they want is an essential business strategy and in many
industries, the key to business success.

Executives still refer to B2B and B2C business models, as though
companies control demand by going to customers with products and
services. But as Bill Price and David Jaffe (authors of The Best
Service is No Service) show, a new business model is emerging
in which the customer directs the relationship. It is becoming a
world of "Me2B"--one in which the customer, not the business,
dictates the terms of engagement. In order for your business to
thrive, you must create positive experiences to fulfill a range of
customer needs.

Though the mediums for customer engagement continuously evolve,
Price and Jaffe show that customer needs remain unchanging. In
Your Customer Rules!, they define a critical hierarchy of
seven needs that your company can meet and apply as a
methodology.

Throughout this practical guidebook, Price and Jaffe share
examples of companies who succeed by meeting these seven needs,
including Amazon, Apple, IKEA, Nordstrom, USAA, Shoes of Prey,
Vente-Privee, and Yamato Transport, as well as those that didn't.
Your Customer Rules! offers tailored advice for companies at
every stage, from nimble startups to legacy firms with established
customer service practices--and everyone in between.

With a simple, elegant solution for driving lasting value for
customers, Your Customer Rules! is a clear guide for
strengthening customer relationships and competing on more than
price. It is essential reading for executives at all
levels--business owners, marketing managers, and anyone who
works directly with customers.