From Impressed to Obsessed: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans

by Jon Picoult

Stop satisfying your customers - and start impressing them - using the strategies of Apple, Costco, Disney, and other industry dominators.

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.

Renowned customer experience expert Jon Picoult takes you on a mesmerizing journey, showing how customer loyalty is as much about shaping people's memories as it is about shaping their experiences.

Through captivating stories and eye-opening studies, Picoult explains the 12 breakthrough, psychology-based strategies that successful companies use to impress customers - leading them to become obsessed with the business's products and services, and to encourage others to do the same.

Filled with actionable examples, you'll see how you can immediately apply these principles to turn more sales prospects into customers, and more customers into raving fans. Picoult even demonstrates how business leaders can use the very same principles to strengthen employee engagement and loyalty.

Turn your organization's customer experience into its greatest competitive advantage, by applying the simple but profound lessons in From Obsessed to Impressed.

Genres: Business

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2021

About the author

Jon Picoult is the founder of Watermark Consulting and author of “From Impressed to Obsessed: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans” (McGraw-Hill, Nov. 2, 2021). He helps organizations impress customers and inspire employees, building powerful loyalty in both the marketplace and the workplace.

A noted authority on customer and employee experience, Jon is an acclaimed public speaker, as well as an advisor to top executives at some of the world’s foremost brands. His insights have been featured by dozens of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes.

Prior to establishing Watermark, Jon held senior executive roles at Fortune 100 companies. Early in his career, at the age of 29, he earned the distinction of becoming the youngest executive officer in the over 150-year history of a leading, global financial services firm.

Jon received his bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from Princeton University and his M.B.A. in general management from Duke University.

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was tasked with reading this book by my manager. Although I did enjoy some of the interesting examples of customer experiences and recovery gone awry or well, I found many of the actionable items lacking. However, it is a book I may reference in the future and I found parts thought provoking, allowing me to reflect on how I can improve.

[David Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on what you can do with your product to turn customers into fans that will keep coming back. The examples cited cover a range of industries and the variety allowed the reader to understand how the principles could be applied.

I was impressed with the book and decided to take my team through a ten-week book study through it to reflect on our product. The discussions were rich and I would encourage anyone who is serious about improving your product to read this book.

[Racer_rajesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, the 12 principles mentioned in the book is common sense, but the way author has compiled with stories makes it really great read ! This must read for people who plan to start business or in business or in leadership positions. Once again, great read !

[Sabrina Havron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most interesting business books I have read. I found the examples included in the book to be fascinating and well laid out. Even more so given the recent issues Southwest Airlines has encountered. Would recommend this book to anyone looking to increase their knowledge of the overall customer journey and how to view from beginning to end. Revealing examples of how companies can't just look at their product/s and/or industry as their measuring stick. Recognizing customers judge any interaction against all others, regardless of the situation or environment. If Amazon can get my package to me in two days, why can't you? Great book.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Randomly bought this on Audible due to the alrithm's suggestion... Felt like I learned absolutely nothing which I did not already see simply by being mindful about my own experiences on both sides of interactions with companies.

There were a few interesting examples, but giving this a low rating because this could be accomplished in far far fewer words (word counts are unfortunately outside the author's control though, and I will always resent publishers for wasting the world's time with writing contracts).

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a logical way, Jon explains the twelve principles that will help readers build experiences that will make customers rave about them. In conversational language and without fluff, the book is packed with case examples from famous brands to punctuate and drive home each concept -- and each topic also includes a list of different practical application ideas. There are learnings in this book for everyone from business newcomers to seasoned leaders: I absolutely love this solid, neatly wrapped, universal framework for any CX practice. I highly recommend this book!

[Richard Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had a good list of common-sense ways to engage customers. The success stories included some less-than-ideal examples: ING Direct, Southwest Airlines, Hyundai. Also, some successful companies were included who have remained successful in spite of abandoning some customers’ needs, like Amazon and Starbucks.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 12 principles are really well explained and each is given a real world example. Very well written book with great lessons.