In this lively and readable book, the authors argue that in recent years far too much has been made of customer satisfaction, and that this has come at the expense of hard-edged consumerism. Whether or not "the customer is king," the first rule of business is to make money. Pragmatic and practical, the book destroys seven key myths about customer management that have gained almost folkloric status, and provides a step-by-step action plan for linking customer service with commercial goals.

Figures ixAcknowledgements xiIntroduction xii1 The seven myths of customer management: Debunking some established wisdom 1The dangers of customer leadership 1What is really happening? 5Myth 1: Customer retention is the key to increased profitability 6Myth 2: Divesting unprofitable customers will increase profitability overall 9Myth 3: Customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty 12Myth 4: Repeat purchase is the same as customer loyalty 15Myth 5: Organizations should develop relationships with their customers 18Myth 6: One-to-one marketing is the ultimate goal 21Myth 7: Technology is the primary enabler of customer focus 25A different approach 282 Testing the water: Understanding where you are today 29Picking up customer signals 32Business-to-business customers 36What research does not tell you 39New technology, new danger 42Substituting benchmarking for thought 44Ten ways to gain real customer insight 463 Look before you leap: Developing a customer-focused strategy 50What is customer-focused strategy? 52Strategy in context 55Developing customer-focused strategy 58Appraising the world outside 62Seeking to be different 66Leading on cost 69Focusing on markets or customers 70The customer lifecycle 73Deciding and evaluating alternatives 77Action planning 804 Measuring your way to success: Allocating resources for maximum effect 83The failure of measurement 85Customer attitude measures 86Customer retention measures 87Customer value measures 89The failure of management information systems 93Towards customer value 97Customer value analysis in action 102The pitfalls and problems 107The benefits of value-based management 1095 Don't keep it too simple, stupid: The need for a segmented approach 111Segment or die 113Understanding customers' needs and motivations 114Collecting the data 120From data to intelligence 120From intelligence to hypothesis 126From hypothesis to appraisal 130From appraisal to strategy 131From strategy to results 133Pitfalls and problems 136Segmentation: a postscript 1386 Lining up the ducks: Aligning the company for customer focus 140Aligning finance 142Aligning product strategy 143Aligning the proposition: from product to profit 146Brand alignment 148Aligning distribution 150Aligning customer communication 152Loyalty programmes 158Alignment: a postscript 1637 Are you the problem? The role of leadership in creating customer focus 164Data-less decision making 166Rearranging the deckchairs 168The pitfalls of project teams 169Best practice is sometimes best left alone 170Incentivizing inappropriate behaviour 172Technology turmoil 175Everyone embraces change enthusiastically 179Reorganizing for focus 183Changing a light bulb 1878 Bringing the focus alive: A practical action plan 188An action plan for customer focus 190Managing the customer focus process 190The internal review 193Customer dynamics and needs 195Segment objectives and propositions 198Customer-management objectives, strategy and tactics 200Channel strategies and implementation 207Testing and performance measurement 208Customer and market knowledge management 211Change planning 213Technology strategy 214Index 218