Today's customers have unprecedented power. They know it, and they're wielding
that power as never before. As a business, you can fight them - and lose. Or you
can become a true customer advocate, and win. Customer advocacy means becoming a
faithful representative of your customers' interests. It means providing your customers
and prospects with open, honest and complete information (because your customer will
discover the truth no matter what you do). It means talking with customers, not at
them - really. In most companies, customer advocacy requires a massive
transformation in both culture and process. In this book, one of the world's leading
marketing innovators shows why you must make that transformation, and how to make
it work. MIT's Glen Urban covers the entire "pyramid" of customer
advocacy: the "base" (starting with TQM and customer satisfaction initiatives);
the "middle" (relationship marketing); and the "pinnacle": new
advocacy techniques built on trust, not coercion. Companies from GM to Intel, Qwest
to John Deere are beginning to recognize the urgent importance of customer advocacy. Urban
reveals what they're trying, and what challenges they're up against - and identifies
crucial lessons for earning the customer trust you need to thrive in today's radically
changed business environment.
"Congratulations to Glen Urban for moving 'best marketing practice' up a
notch. Companies will gain more in the long run by helping their customers make wise
choices than in pushing them into purchasing their products. Establishing a
reputation for customer trust, transparency, and advice will be the new
differentiator."
Phil Kotler
Contents
Acknowledgments.
About the Author.
1. Now Is the Time to Advocate for Your Customers.
Watch Out for Growing Customer Power!
How Should Your Company Respond?
Building Advocacy.
What Is New Here?
The New Tools Work Well.
The Paradigm Is Shifting-Pioneers Will Gain Advantages.
What You Will Learn in This Book.
2. The Internet Creates Customer Power.
The Internet Is Pervasive.
The Travel Revolution.
Sources of Customer Power.
Auto Buying - It Is Not Your Father's Buying Process.
Customer Power Is Healthy.
Power Has Been Granted.
3. The Balance of Push and Trust Is Shifting.
The Balance between Push/Pull and Trust/Advocacy.
The Balance Is Shifting in the Travel Industry.
In Automobiles the Shift Is to Trust.
Health-The Need for Trust Is Increasing.
Power, Balance, and Impact.
4. Customer Power Is All Around You.
Industries Are Changing Dramatically.
Converging Forces Are Amplifying the Impact of the Customer Power
Shift.
The Paradigm Is Shifting.
5. Theory A-The New Paradigm.
Rules of Traditional Push/Pull Marketing.
The Mcgregor Revolution in Organization Theory and Its Analogy in
Marketing.
Rules of Marketing Based on Theory A.
Antecedents of Theory A.
Advocacy in Marketing Leads to Advocacy-Based Management.
6. Where Are You Positioned on the Trust Dimensions?
Where Are You Positioned on the Overall Trust Dimension?
Where Are You Positioned on the Trust Components?
7. Is Advocacy for You?
Does Advocacy Fit You?
Building an Advocacy-Based Strategy.
Evolutionary Strategies.
8. Tools for Advocacy.
Building the Foundation of the Advocacy Pyramid.
The Dream Versus Reality in CRM.
Continuous Learning to Build Trust and Cross-Channel Coherence.
Building Trust with a Virtual Trusted Advisor.
"Listen In" to Learn Customer Needs.
Building a Virtual Advocate.
New Tools Are Emerging.
9. Questions and Answers about Customer Advocacy.
Will Customer Advocacy Really Work?
Can You Trust Your Customers?
What Is the Role of Advertising in a World of Customer Power?
How Widely Can You Apply Customer Advocacy?
Is Customer Advocacy Really a Paradigm Shift?
10. Moving to Advocacy.
Empathize with Your Customers.
Change the Culture of Your Company.
People, Measures, Incentives, and Organization.
Consistency and Coordination.
Trust for All Stakeholders.
Vision, Courage, and Passion.
Building the Total Pyramid.
11. The Advocacy Imperative.
What Is Most Important to Remember?
The Future of Trust and Advocacy.
The Advocacy Imperative - If You Do Not Do It, Your Competitors
Will!
The Advocacy Checklist.
The Challenge of Customer Advocacy.
Afterword: Author's Note.
Index.
Hardback, 256 pages