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A New Direction in Customer Service?

With customer satisfaction and customer loyalty levels flat or declining in most industries, companies are scrambling to find solutions that meet short term necessities and provide lasting change. In the The Best Service is No Service, Bill Price and co-author David Jaffe describe a paradigm shift that moves the emphasis from accepting demand to challenging demand for customer-initiated contacts.

A New Direction in Customer Service?

The Best Service is No Service, available now in 27 countries, challenges the underlying reasons why customers find themselves having to contact companies, often over and over again for the same issue or problem, and offers solutions for how companies can reduce customer contact rates significantly.

"If you believe, as I do, that earning the trust of your customers is the most direct route to long-term success for a business, then this is the book for you." Read more: Don Pepper's review of Best Service is No Service on Amazon today!

The Financial Times says this about The Best Service is No Service:

"Achieving "no service" status unleashes a hugely positive win-win. Customers don't have to invest time and hassle trying to sort problems out. The company does not have to invest resources dealing with inquiries. This means less cost for both, greater value for both.

Once we accept the premise that, generally speaking, the size of a company's customer service operations is in inverse proportion to the quality of its underlying operations, the way forward is obvious. Root out those underlying defects and improve operational quality so that, one by one, customers' needs for particular areas of service melt away."

David Jaffe can be reached at: david_jaffe@customeroutcomesgroup.com

Graham Howard can be reached at: graham_howard@customeroutcomesgroup.com

Experiences that customers demand

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 is 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.

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.

David Jaffe can be reached at: david_jaffe@customeroutcomesgroup.com

Graham Howard can be reached at: graham_howard@customeroutcomesgroup.com