Fans Not Customers

Most companies plod along doing things as everyone always has. So there are huge opportunities for people trying to break the mould, even in old-fashioned businesses like banking or insurance. Of course it happens all the time in the digital world, but it can happen anywhere - so long as you turn your customers into fans. When that happens your customers - who will sing your praises when your competitors' customers are grumbling all the time - become your greatest allies in marketing and sales. Then you can really go for growth. But to amaze and delight your customers and clients isn't easy, and requires constant work and innovation - this book, generously scattered with examples and case studies drawn from Vernon Hill's own experience shows how it is to be done.

Most companies plod along doing things as everyone always has. So there are huge opportunities for people trying to break the mould, even in old-fashioned businesses like banking or insurance. Of course it happens all the time in the digital world, but it can happen anywhere - so long as you turn your customers into fans. When that happens your customers - who will sing your praises when your competitors' customers are grumbling all the time - become your greatest allies in marketing and sales. Then you can really go for growth. But to amaze and delight your customers and clients isn't easy, and requires constant work and innovation - this book, generously scattered with examples and case studies drawn from Vernon Hill's own experience shows how it is to be done.

A Wall Street Journal bestseller From the author of New Rules of Marketing & PR, a bold guide to converting customer passion into marketing power. How do some brands attract word-of-mouth buzz and radical devotion around products as everyday as car insurance, b2b software, and underwear? They embody the most powerful marketing force in the world: die-hard fans. In this essential book, leading business growth strategist David Meerman Scott and fandom expert Reiko Scott explore the neuroscience of fandom and interview young entrepreneurs, veteran business owners, startup founders, nonprofits, and companies big and small to pinpoint which practices separate organizations that flourish from those stuck in stagnation. They lay out a road map for converting customers’ ardor into buying power, pulling one-of-a-kind examples from a wide range of organizations, including: · MeUndies, the subscription company that’s revolutionizing underwear · HeadCount, the nonprofit that registers voters at music concerts · Grain Surfboards, the board-building studio that willingly reveals its trade secrets with customers · Hagerty, the classic-car insurance provider with over 600,000 premier club members · HubSpot, the software company that draws 25,000 attendees to its annual conference For anyone who seeks to harness the force of fandom to revolutionize his or her business, Fanocracy shows the way.

The go-to guide for small-business owners and entrepreneurs to discover exactly what consumers want to buy and how to get it to them. As a small-business owner, entrepreneur, or marketer, are you absolutely certain that you know what your customer wants? And even if you know what your customer wants, are you sure that you are able to clearly communicate that you offer the exact thing that they are seeking? In this best-selling book, Ryan Levesque lays out his proven, repeatable, yet slightly counterintuitive, methodology for understanding the core wants and motivations of your customer. Levesque's Ask Method provides a way to discover what customers want to buy by guiding them through a series of questions and customizing a solution from them so they are more likely to purchase from you. And all through a completely automated process that does not require one-on-one conversations with every single customer. The Ask method has generated over $100 million in online sales across 23 different industries and counting. Now it is your turn to use it to create a funnel, skyrocket your online income, and create a mass of dedicated fans for you and your company in the process.

Build Customer Relationships and Win Big Revenue! “Unbreakable relationships are crucial to success in business. Lou Imbriano captures what it takes to forge the kind of deep credibility that encourages consumers and clients to trust you with their hard-earned dollars. If you want to deepen your customers’ trust and grow your revenues, I suggest you read Winning the Customer and you will win.” —Bob Reynolds, President & CEO, Putnam Investments “Lou Imbriano rescues the word ‘winning’ from the clutches of Charlie Sheen . . . and, like a Patriots playbook, Lou takes you through his game plan for successfully building a victorious team that opponents will respect and fear . . . from who should be answering your phone to effectively saying ‘no,’ it’s all there . . . lazy, unmotivated people, this is not for you. . . .” —Steve Levy, ESPN SportsCenter anchor “Imbriano definitely made his mark in the NFL and now he’s an MVP again with his new book, Winning the Customer. Lou’s down-to-earth marketing philosophies, which he brought to the Patriots, epitomize how everyone, in any industry, should approach marketing. If you want to truly know how to build remarkable business relationships, read Winning the Customer.” —Michael O’Hara Lynch, Head of Global Sponsorship, Visa “At a time when consumers have the power to use media where and how they choose, to like, dislike, and share their opinion on products and corporations, brand engagement is the best answer to build emotional and enduring relationships between brands and all their relevant communities. This book should be given to anyone who wants to understand the new dynamics that can bond brands with their ever-demanding customers.” —Lucien Boyer, President & Global CEO, Havas Sports & Entertainment About the Book: During his nine years in senior marketing positions with the New England Patriots, Lou Imbriano laid the foundation and marketing vision for the football team that led to its astronomical growth and explosive revenue—perfectly positioning them to be ready for when the Patriots became repeat Super Bowl champions and the NFL brand to beat. Now CEO of TrinityOne, a strategic marketing firm, Lou has an undefeated record of showing all types of companies how to tackle customer relationships and convert them into tangible revenue. In Winning the Customer, Lou delivers his original strategies for both short- and long-term financial success: The Marketing Playbook: how to identify those who are dying to spend money with you Relationship Architecture: how to connect with customers in meaningful ways and create “memorable moments” The Revenue Game: how to build revenue instead of selling concepts Throughout the book, you’ll find Lou’s dynamic personal stories drawn right from his years of real-world business experience. He’s learned that to maximize revenue, every organization must both turn its customers into fans and coax those fans to spend freely. Winning the Customer shows you how to do just that using the Three Tiers of Customer Relationships. Imbriano shares his strategies with his innovative DELIVERS system: Dedication, Entertainment, Loyalty, Investment, Vision, Energy, Responsibility, and Sacrifice. Filled with practical information and written in Lou’s inimitable conversational style, Winning the Customer is your all-pro offensive attack against old, ineffective methods and flat results. Lou’s tools will give any business an inspired team, supersized income, and a virtual stadium full of engaged, high-paying customers.

"Your customers are only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing better. Just having satisfied customers isn't good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create Raving Fans." This, in a nutshell, is the advice given to a new Area Manager on his first day--in an extraordinary business book that will help everyone, in every kind of organization or business, deliver stunning customer service and achieve miraculous bottom-line results. Written in the parable style of The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans uses a brilliantly simple and charming story to teach how to define a vision, learn what a customer really wants, institute effective systems, and make Raving Fan Service a constant feature--not just another program of the month. America is in the midst of a service crisis that has left a wake of disillusioned customers from coast to coast. Raving Fans includes startling new tips and innovative techniques that can help anyone create a revolution in any workplace--and turn their customers into raving, spending fans.

What's better than getting new customers? Turning existing ones into FANS. Everything marketers need to know to find, engage, and leverage the power of brand evangelists Think Like a Rock Star provides step-by-step instructions that show marketing professionals how to connect with customers both online and offline to create a truly fan-centric brand. Using case studies of how rock stars like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Blink-182 cultivate fans, it teaches readers how to apply those lessons to create brand advocates who will grow profits, improve business frameworks, and contribute more than ever to the success of the brand. It also identifies successful and easily replicable marketing strategies of top brands such as Dell, Ford, Patagonia, and YouTube. Think Like a Rock Star is an indispensable tool for any marketing professional. Foreword by Kathy Sierra, cocreator of the Head First book series Mack Collier is a social media strategist, trainer, and speaker who specializes in helping companies better connect with their customers via social media. His clients include businesses of all sizes, from sole proprietorships to Fortune 500 companies.

If you’re aspiring to satisfy your customers, then you’re aspiring to mediocrity. That’s the fascinating premise of From Impressed to Obsessed, a book that will fundamentally change how you think about creating a successful, beloved business. Acclaimed customer experience expert Jon Picoult explains why building customer loyalty requires leaving indelible positive impressions on everyone you work with—not just shaping their experiences, but also shaping their memories. Picoult explores the cognitive science behind great customer experiences, pinpointing the breakthrough, psychology-based strategies that both industry leaders (like Apple, Disney, and Southwest Airlines) as well as fast-growing startups (like BILT and Framebridge) use to shape people’s perceptions and sculpt unforgettable impressions—thereby turning more sales prospects into customers, and more customers into obsessed brand ambassadors. Packed with intriguing case studies, engaging stories, and eye-opening research, the book details these proven principles and illustrates how they can be applied to almost any type of business or customer. Examples include cases that show how to: • Create Peaks & Avoid Valleys—leverage the science of memory to etch positive impressions in people’s minds, by creating greater experiential peaks and fewer experiential valleys. • Give the Perception of Control—the almost magical power of giving customers a sense of agency, via choice and expectation-setting, causing them to feel better about the experience a business is already delivering. • Make It Effortless—make interactions easy for customers, not just from a physical perspective, but also a cognitive one, to satisfy today’s demand for simplicity and convenience. • Stir Emotion—harness the power of emotion as a memory cue, by infusing customer experiences with emotional resonance, highlighting positive feelings while stemming negative ones. No matter what kind of constituency you serve—customers or colleagues, individuals or institutions, employees or employment candidates—this book will help you do it with distinction. Picoult’s message is particularly relevant for managers, as he shows the parallels between how great companies cultivate engagement with customers, and how great leaders accomplish the same with their workforce. From Impressed to Obsessed reveals the what, the why, and—most importantly—the how behind great customer experiences. Filled with actionable insights, the book provides an invaluable roadmap for becoming the company that everyone wants to do business with, the employer everyone wants to work for, and the leader everyone wants to follow.