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What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint
The best companies in the world discover what their customers desire—and then deliver it in memorable and deeply human experiences. How well do you know your customers
What Customers Crave examines how the hyper-connected economy is radically changing consumer expectations, and reveals what companies need to do to stay on top. The solution rests on two simple questions: What do your customers love? What do they hate? Find the answers, and you’re well on your way to success.
What Customers Crave examines how the hyper-connected economy is radically changing consumer expectations, and reveals what companies need to do to stay on top. The solution rests on two simple questions: What do your customers love? What do they hate? Find the answers, and you’re well on your way to success.
Jam-packed with tools and examples, What Customers Crave helps you reinvent how you engage with customers (both digitally and non-digitally) and:
● Gain invaluable insights into who they are and what they care about
● Use listening posts and Contact Point Innovation to refine customer types
● Engineer experiences for each micromarket that are not only exceptional, but insanely relevant
● Connect across the five most important touchpoints
● Co-create with your customers
● And much more
When you learn to provide your customers with exactly what they want, they not only buy—they come back again and again…and bring their friends.
- GenresBusinessNonfictionDesign
256 pages, Hardcover
Published October 13, 2016
About the author
Nicholas J. Webb
12 books5 followersNICHOLAS J. WEBB is a popular speaker, innovation expert, and corporate strategist. A senior partner at Lassen Innovation, he consults with Fortune 500 companies throughout the world on enterprise strategy, innovation, and customer experience.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 1, 2016
I received a free arc in exchange for my honest review.
When I first opened this book on my Kindle, I thought it was pretty short. It registered as being I believe 5% in and I was only on the table of contents. Turns out it isn't short; it's just densely packed.
This book breaks down customer service for the new generation; the digital one. It goes through the importance of treating customers not as demographics but rather as types. What a customer loves and what a customer hates are more important than their age, race or creed.
I think this would be an excellent book for a small business and useful for bigger businesses as well.
When I first opened this book on my Kindle, I thought it was pretty short. It registered as being I believe 5% in and I was only on the table of contents. Turns out it isn't short; it's just densely packed.
This book breaks down customer service for the new generation; the digital one. It goes through the importance of treating customers not as demographics but rather as types. What a customer loves and what a customer hates are more important than their age, race or creed.
I think this would be an excellent book for a small business and useful for bigger businesses as well.
January 16, 2022
I gave this book two chances and still couldn’t get through it. It was an extremely repetitive and slow read. It also wasn’t well written and offered minimal insights/additions. I’m disappointed…
November 8, 2016
Knowing what your customers desire and then seeking to deliver it, often with a personal or memorable twist, is a sure way of cementing customer loyalty and possibly gaining staunch advocates too. Yet how to achieve this exalted position, since it is not as easy as you may think. Creating memorable experiences at every step is the key and the author aims to show you the way.
Customer expectations are being changed by our hyper-connected society and we all are being bombarded by sales messages and a host of other distractions. A customer can be fickle yet for those who manage to convert a regular customer to a loyal customer, the rewards can be even greater. You need more than just good products and a competitive price. You need to find out what your customers like and love and, of course, seek to work around the things they hate. You may even be able to turn their negatives into positives and win them over.
So this book provides a really interesting look at the subject, mixing effortlessly theory and practical advice together to great effect, offering relevant and actionable advice for all. Both online and offline customer interactions are covered too. By the end of the book you may be looking at your business and its interactions in a totally different light. It can be a bit of a slog to reinvent and reengineer your processes, or possibly your entire company, but a worthy and necessary one. In a competitive industry sector you can be assured that your competitors may not be standing idly by, although the astute leader will want to move quickly to gain any first-mover advantage they can! Lead the pack, not follow it.
The advice offered was credible, informative and most-importantly not patronising to the reader or needing to use hyperbole (other books, take note). A highly recommended read.
Autamme.com
Customer expectations are being changed by our hyper-connected society and we all are being bombarded by sales messages and a host of other distractions. A customer can be fickle yet for those who manage to convert a regular customer to a loyal customer, the rewards can be even greater. You need more than just good products and a competitive price. You need to find out what your customers like and love and, of course, seek to work around the things they hate. You may even be able to turn their negatives into positives and win them over.
So this book provides a really interesting look at the subject, mixing effortlessly theory and practical advice together to great effect, offering relevant and actionable advice for all. Both online and offline customer interactions are covered too. By the end of the book you may be looking at your business and its interactions in a totally different light. It can be a bit of a slog to reinvent and reengineer your processes, or possibly your entire company, but a worthy and necessary one. In a competitive industry sector you can be assured that your competitors may not be standing idly by, although the astute leader will want to move quickly to gain any first-mover advantage they can! Lead the pack, not follow it.
The advice offered was credible, informative and most-importantly not patronising to the reader or needing to use hyperbole (other books, take note). A highly recommended read.
Autamme.com
November 5, 2018
I recently finished listening to this audiobook for the third time as there was so much excellent, actionable content.
The approach taken by the author was very refreshing and the information contained should be mandatory reading for any businesses that have customers (which is essentially everyone!) regardless of what they do.
"The more you try to make money by focusing on money the less money you make. The more you focus on delivering exceptional value and building a mission centred culture, the more money you make.”
If I were to include all the passages I liked in the book this would be an extremely long review, so I'll just limit it to the quote above.
Am honoured that Nicholas will be an upcoming guest on my podcast named Exceeding Expectations which focuses on delivering an exceptional service to your customers and looking forward to the value that he'll give to the listeners of the show.
The approach taken by the author was very refreshing and the information contained should be mandatory reading for any businesses that have customers (which is essentially everyone!) regardless of what they do.
"The more you try to make money by focusing on money the less money you make. The more you focus on delivering exceptional value and building a mission centred culture, the more money you make.”
If I were to include all the passages I liked in the book this would be an extremely long review, so I'll just limit it to the quote above.
Am honoured that Nicholas will be an upcoming guest on my podcast named Exceeding Expectations which focuses on delivering an exceptional service to your customers and looking forward to the value that he'll give to the listeners of the show.
June 28, 2017
I couldn't get through this book. There were probably some good concepts but he was so repetitive and the content was poorly written. Really not riveting in any way.
January 7, 2021
Being in the field of customer support, it made sense that I read this book. The core ideas like finding customer types and designing customer experiences at all touchpoints were very well developed.
Webb did a great job delivering content that was relevant to the field. I only feel that there was too much repetition along the book. I would find the same concepts being explained over and over across different chapters. This might be a strategy to force those concepts to stay with you, but at the same time, I can't stop thinking that the book could have been delivered in a shorter form, without expanding so much into explaining concepts again and again.
Still, this was a good read and very useful to any employee in any company, not only the ones in the customer support area, but also management, design, marketing, and innovation.
Webb did a great job delivering content that was relevant to the field. I only feel that there was too much repetition along the book. I would find the same concepts being explained over and over across different chapters. This might be a strategy to force those concepts to stay with you, but at the same time, I can't stop thinking that the book could have been delivered in a shorter form, without expanding so much into explaining concepts again and again.
Still, this was a good read and very useful to any employee in any company, not only the ones in the customer support area, but also management, design, marketing, and innovation.
November 6, 2018
So many books on customer experience - and so many examples/cases of survivorship bias. This is a another "victim".
The book is OK, but I can't say it's more than that. There are some takeaways, but when it comes to customer experience, it's so much about figuring out a culture for the specific organisation and product, and then leading by example. It's hard to transfer learning in one organisation to another without it feeling a bit "taped on".
It's an OK book, but you are better served reading Bezo's letters to shareholders or going into a forest and thinking about what you want to be known for.
The book is OK, but I can't say it's more than that. There are some takeaways, but when it comes to customer experience, it's so much about figuring out a culture for the specific organisation and product, and then leading by example. It's hard to transfer learning in one organisation to another without it feeling a bit "taped on".
It's an OK book, but you are better served reading Bezo's letters to shareholders or going into a forest and thinking about what you want to be known for.
January 3, 2018
While serving interesting examples and clear information, I found this book more on the repetitive side than anything else. Webb shares considerable amount of theory but hardly any step-by-step advice or methodology that could drive execution and results. I can see how this might be a great sales magnet for his consulting business (which he mentions quite a lot). Still, for somebody with no knowledge of digital marketing or basic customer service training, I believe this to be a good start. Of course, there's nothing better than going ahead and forming your own opinion about it.
February 24, 2020
This is not a book I would ever pick up and read voluntarily. My boss gave me this book to read and report back to him with what I learned. That being said I found it interesting. I work in healthcare and I can see how the principles are applicable at an administrative level to engage patients. I can’t say that all principles apply to my department directly because I work in non-ancillary/support services - but I do agree that it’s important to know what customers (other departments) like and how to be innovative. This book raises awareness in a work setting.
December 4, 2021
Marketing Read #2
Webb, in my opinion, does a good job of helping readers comprehend distinct customer types by describing how to discover what they like and dislike. He argues that it is via these insights that enterprises will be able to build outstanding experiences for all consumer types, across all touchpoints and channels, both digital and non-digital. I think the book was helpful, although most of what Webb said was essentially common sense. It is fundamental knowledge that businesses must be aware of in order to thrive.
Webb, in my opinion, does a good job of helping readers comprehend distinct customer types by describing how to discover what they like and dislike. He argues that it is via these insights that enterprises will be able to build outstanding experiences for all consumer types, across all touchpoints and channels, both digital and non-digital. I think the book was helpful, although most of what Webb said was essentially common sense. It is fundamental knowledge that businesses must be aware of in order to thrive.
October 1, 2020
The book has a lot of really good tips, and just the point related to the customer "touch points" alone would have been well worth it! Even though more and more businesses today are finally finally understanding that customer service is the one single factor that will make them successful in the long run, very few truly understand what excellent customer service means! This book really drives the point home that customer service is a life and death (of the business) issue!
October 18, 2019
Vague and unoriginal. For example, he has a formula to understand your customers. Here it is: find out what they love, find out what they hate. Seriously, that's word for word the formula. And he doesn't explain how to find this out. He skips that to examples of different customer personas ("stingy Joe" vs. "speedy Jim"). There are more formulas and they're all that bad.
August 26, 2017
This Allied book club selection is one of the more practical and actionable books on the customer service experience. Has a textbook like feel and very good for entry level marketing or customer experience managers.
November 20, 2019
This book offers some great visuals and processes on building loyalty. The advice on hitting every touch point was great. The innovation section was ok but it took away from the book to me but thats my personal likes and dislikes.
April 6, 2020
The best business book I've read in the last 3 years. Excellent writing, specific examples, action steps relevant to what's happening right now. Disclaimer - I also got to attend a private workshop with Nick - he's an excellent speaker and caring teacher.
May 6, 2020
I love how this book teach us that by making your business meaningful to others, you can actually make your business fun and successful. I am in restaurant business and will definitely make use of the ideas from this books. Thank you for your amazing work.
August 6, 2020
It’s easy to tell who bankrolled this book. At least I hope. It all comes off as remedial and geared towards a lower level, beginning marketing audience. It’s all buzzwords about Google and Trader Joe’s. I found it a waste of time with no real takeaways.
June 22, 2021
The book gives specific ideas and tools to create a customer experience for your businesses customers. I just need to take action. Will not be able to do this without help. We will see if I can follow through.
January 4, 2018
Somewhat jargony take about customer service. Doesn't feel groundbreaking.
July 16, 2019
Important message but extremely repetitive. Could have easily been a TED Talk.
September 2, 2019
The overall concept is good, but the content is very redundant
October 26, 2019
Nothing groundbreaking in here, but some nice tidbits and, overall, a sound read.
September 26, 2020
An insightful read. Loved the way that the author described the touchpoints and their importance in retaining customers and gaining new ones as well.
March 27, 2021
This has become a must have on my shelf as a reference I will go back to. Breaks it down in simple terms of what organisations should focus on but seldom do.
August 1, 2021
The best book I’ve read on CX so far.
December 2, 2022
Good philosophy here for customer relations!
September 26, 2016
Hi I’m Douglas Burdett, host of The Marketing Book Podcast and I’d like to tell you about the book “What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint” by Nicholas Webb
These days, the really smart marketing money is being invested in engineering a great customer experience. There is an enormous unmet demand for good customer experiences.
In a Bain & Company study of 362 companies, 80 percent of those companies thought that they were delivering a “superior experience.” In truth, only 8 percent were, according to their customers. And, customer experience is where the profits are, according to “What Customers Crave.”
70% of Americans are willing to spend more with companies they believe provide an excellent customer experience.
Plus, keeping your customers is where the big money is:
The probability of selling to a new prospect is less than 20%, while the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70 percent.
On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.
OK, so why is customer experience becoming so important to marketing now?
Well, it’s because we’re now in a hyperconnected, hypercompetitive business world. And everyone has a megaphone – if the experience your customers have with you is a bad one, they will not return. And, they’ll tell the world on social media and review sites how awful you are. But, if your customers have a great experience and you delight them, not only will that be surprising, they will remain loyal customers and tell others.
And that is the most powerful marketing – studies show that people trust word of mouth recommendations from friends (and even strangers) more than anything else and much more than what a company says about itself. But while engineering a great customer experience is a simple thing to say, it can be a complex process for companies to try and get their arms around.
You’re dealing with digital and non-digital communications, and people from every part of your company. Some companies, when they try to map out the customer journey are finding that it has thousands of touchpoints. What’s most interesting to me about What Customers Crave is the amazing simplicity outlined in the book to engineer a great customer experience.
For instance, Nicholas Webb suggests segmenting your customers with just two simple concepts: what your customers love, and what your customers hate. And instead of trying to map a thousand different touch points throughout your customer’s journey, he shows how you really need just five.
If you want to delight and sell more to your current customers who will then become an army of marketers for your company, this is your book.
And, to listen to an interview with Nicholas Webb about “What Customers Crave,” visit MarketingBookPodcast.com.
These days, the really smart marketing money is being invested in engineering a great customer experience. There is an enormous unmet demand for good customer experiences.
In a Bain & Company study of 362 companies, 80 percent of those companies thought that they were delivering a “superior experience.” In truth, only 8 percent were, according to their customers. And, customer experience is where the profits are, according to “What Customers Crave.”
70% of Americans are willing to spend more with companies they believe provide an excellent customer experience.
Plus, keeping your customers is where the big money is:
The probability of selling to a new prospect is less than 20%, while the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70 percent.
On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.
OK, so why is customer experience becoming so important to marketing now?
Well, it’s because we’re now in a hyperconnected, hypercompetitive business world. And everyone has a megaphone – if the experience your customers have with you is a bad one, they will not return. And, they’ll tell the world on social media and review sites how awful you are. But, if your customers have a great experience and you delight them, not only will that be surprising, they will remain loyal customers and tell others.
And that is the most powerful marketing – studies show that people trust word of mouth recommendations from friends (and even strangers) more than anything else and much more than what a company says about itself. But while engineering a great customer experience is a simple thing to say, it can be a complex process for companies to try and get their arms around.
You’re dealing with digital and non-digital communications, and people from every part of your company. Some companies, when they try to map out the customer journey are finding that it has thousands of touchpoints. What’s most interesting to me about What Customers Crave is the amazing simplicity outlined in the book to engineer a great customer experience.
For instance, Nicholas Webb suggests segmenting your customers with just two simple concepts: what your customers love, and what your customers hate. And instead of trying to map a thousand different touch points throughout your customer’s journey, he shows how you really need just five.
If you want to delight and sell more to your current customers who will then become an army of marketers for your company, this is your book.
And, to listen to an interview with Nicholas Webb about “What Customers Crave,” visit MarketingBookPodcast.com.
October 18, 2016
Working for a service industry company, that continually is met with challenges in terms of what I customers expect from us, what we deliver and what we develop, I picked up this book with great enthusiasm.
Throughout the book, Nick Webb challenged what I thought I knew to be true, how our conventional lines of thinking have gone in terms of product development,and customer service development.
I found the book to be incredibly enlightening, and have given me a number of ideas in terms of what we need to examine, fine-tune and outright change in connection with our customer core touch points.
The only thing that I didn't see, and maybe I just missed it, is how two people that are working for the same company can require two different experiences from their vendor and how to effectively tend to that.
Nevertheless, I sincerely recommend this book. It is well-researched, even if it is clear that the author has some companies that he loves to use as examples and do so repeatedly, and now always do I think his unabashed praise is warranted. As an eye-opener and a tool, this book is top-notch.
[A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley for the purposes of this review.]
Throughout the book, Nick Webb challenged what I thought I knew to be true, how our conventional lines of thinking have gone in terms of product development,and customer service development.
I found the book to be incredibly enlightening, and have given me a number of ideas in terms of what we need to examine, fine-tune and outright change in connection with our customer core touch points.
The only thing that I didn't see, and maybe I just missed it, is how two people that are working for the same company can require two different experiences from their vendor and how to effectively tend to that.
Nevertheless, I sincerely recommend this book. It is well-researched, even if it is clear that the author has some companies that he loves to use as examples and do so repeatedly, and now always do I think his unabashed praise is warranted. As an eye-opener and a tool, this book is top-notch.
[A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley for the purposes of this review.]
October 21, 2016
This is an excellent source for study. I have longed to be able to pull my customers in when I want to and keep them happy. This book will undeniably help. It is packed with information, scarily right on track, too. I
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
March 28, 2017
Useful but not that informative, not that practical as well
Personally I didn't liked that way the author have redifined the touch points ...
in general it is a good to read book for CX professionals but not a must to read one
Personally I didn't liked that way the author have redifined the touch points ...
in general it is a good to read book for CX professionals but not a must to read one
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews