Don't Just Relate - Advocate!: A Blueprint for Profit in the Era of Customer Power

"What would you do if your customers knew everything about your company and your competitors’ products and services-even your disadvantages?" Glen Urban says that "The rise of the Internet enables your customers to find-third party information about your products, ratings of your products, people who was ever dissatisfied with your products or services, and the same full information on your competitors’ offerings. On the Internet, your company, your biggest competitor, and the smallest unknown upstart competitor are the same distance from the customer. Each is only an online search away. The Internet has enabled an unprecedented increase in consumer power!" He continues, "Customer power is growing, and you must decide what to do about it! I propose that you advocate for your customers and earn their trust. In this book, I will show you why you should do this, how you can do this, and what other leading edge companies are doing in this arena. In taking my own advice and advocating for my readers, I will also explain how you can tell if trust and advocacy are not right for your company." In this context, in the chapter five, Glen Urban examines a new trust methodology based on "Theory A" (A is for Advocacy) as an answer to increasing customer power, and contrast it to "Theory P" (P is for Push/Pull marketing) as following; I. Seven Rules of Theory P - Traditional Push/Pull Marketing: 1. Caveat emptor 2. Spend heavily on advertising and selling 3. Maximize your market position 4. Compete aggressively on price and offer different prices to different customers 5. Build quality products and provide good service 6. Get sales results 7. Measure sales and market share Assumptions about customers: 1. Customers avoid decision-making responsibility 2. Customers are passive and must be coerced 3. Customers have difficulty learning and prefer to be influenced 4. Customers have little imagination II. Seven Rules of Theory A: 1. Advocate for your customers 2. Invest heavily in product superiority 3. Create value 4. Work together to design products 5. Make fulfillment flawless 6. Be loyal to your customers 7. Measure the long-run strength of relationship with your customers Assumptions about customers: 1. Customer decision-making is natural 2. Customers are active and want to control the buying process 3. Customers prefer to learn and make an informed decision 4. Customers have imagination, ingenuity, and creativity In this chapter, finally, Glen Urban says that "The first question is, "What should I do about customer power?" Your answer could be push/pull marketing or customer advocacy. Your decision will depend upon the way you view your customers, so you need to ask, "What assumptions-related questions to ask are: "Do I assume that my customers are active or passive decision makers?" "Do I assume they are proactive or that they need to be coerced into buying?" Next, think about strategy and ask, "Should I base my marketing on Theory P or Theory A?" I

Modern forms of communication give customers the option to find the best deal in a matter of seconds and to register dissatisfaction in more ways than you can count. The only viable solution that businesses have is to accept this state of affairs and to incorporate that knowledge into their business plans. Unless you somehow have a corner on the market, to do otherwise is to risk the destruction of your business. Urban clearly understands this situation and provides excellent advice on how to acquire and retain customers. First and foremost, you must earn and maintain their trust. Even the best run businesses will occasionally make mistakes and without the trust of the customer, a simple mistake can cause them to take their business elsewhere. Trust is earned in many ways; it starts with honesty and quality and is reinforced by a policy of customer advocacy that avoids committing trust-busting actions. The traditional "push/pull" marketing, where advertising is often "in your face" is no longer an appropriate business strategy. One of the worst examples of this is the popup ad that is so common on web pages. Nearly everyone is angered by these ads and I am one of many people who note the company being advertised and vow to never give them any business. In the early days of the twentieth century, "caveat emptor" or "buyer beware" was the phrase used to justify arrogant business behavior in the United States. The implementation of federal government regulations was necessary before consumers could trust the quality of their purchases. Beginning in the last days of the twentieth century, consumer power increased dramatically, and the business that ignores this power places its' very survival at risk. Consumer trust must now be earned and by reading this book, you will learn how to thrive in this new environment.

Glen Urban's latest book, "Don't just relate-Advocate" anticipates the seismic shift in market dynamics already underfoot and the resulting tsunami of emerging customer power that is already crashing in on our lives, due in large part to the sea change enabled by Internet technologies. Looking back years from now, pundits and historians will identify this pivot point in business history, when "caveat emptor" began its slow death and "power to the people" was not simply a political mantra but a business reality. Value-based organizations and their visionary leaders ("we can all lead from where we stand") will be well served to explore whether customer advocacy and the trust imperative are central tenets of their strategy, tactics, and organizational DNA, and if the answer is a resounding "yes" then Dr. Urban has provided us with a compelling roadmap for the years ahead. Glen's thought leadership with respect to trust-based marketing, advocacy, and advise-based technologies has been instrumental in fueling our passion for, as well as, creation and implementation of a member advocacy culture at Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego. Consumers today are far smarter than we think... But don't take my word for it, read the book and arrive at your own conclusions. Neville Billimoria Senior Vice President/Membership & Chief Advocacy Officer Mission Federal Credit Union San Diego California, USA

In this Internet Age, consumers know everything about your company and its products. Glen Urban, a member of the MIT Sloan School of Management faculty since 1966, Deputy Dean at the school from 1987 to 1992, and Dean from 1993 to 1998 posits that the only way to earn their trust is to provide them with open, honest and complete information - even if that means finding the right competitor's product to meet their needs. In the face of this increasing consumer power, your company has three options: 1. Respond with the traditional marketing push and pull. In other words, increase pull by upping your advertising budget. Increase your push by employing price and promotional policies. These have been the mainstay of marketing for more than 50 years. 2. Strengthen your customer relationships. In recent years companies have refocused on their customers by emphasizing customer satisfaction metrics, staying on message, building better products using TQM and emphasizing more personal service. 3. The final option is to advocate for your customer. This means you give your customers and prospects complete, open and honest information so they can find the product which best serves their needs. This is a dialogue. The goal with this option is to have customers reciprocate with their trust, purchases and loyalty. Although it may require a complete cultural marketing make-over, Urban says the benefits of advocacy are worth the investment: 1. Reduced customer acquisition costs. Trust lowers the number of new customers company must acquire to maintain its growth projection. 2. Higher Profit margins. Customers are willing to pay more for quality products from vendors they trust. 3. Growth. When a company becomes a trust vendor, customers look to that firm for more products and services in more categories. 4. Advocacy lays the foundation for long-term customer advantage. Not only is Urban's thesis persuasive, he also shows how to determine whether an advocacy-based strategy is right for your firm. He ten takes the strategy the next step and shows how to build the trust required. The MIT professor provides you with new tools and identifies the leadership skills and cross-functional requirements needed to develop a successful response to this rise of consumer power.

In the age of information, it is little surprise that the majority of a businesses customers know what is under the sheets. The internet, cable news and business channels, even a more in tune population all make the walls of most business as see through as a window. This is why the author claims that if you are not a true advocate for your customers, then you will see continue market share erosion because there is some on out there that has become an advocate. Earning the trust of your customers is as important, if not more then offering the best or cheapest et all, product or service. If you earn and keep a persons trust, then the business will take care of its self. So are the thoughts of this author. He states that most forward looking companies are pursuing customer advocacy. They are the companies that are providing customers with open honest and complete information. They truly represent their customers best interests, not just trying to get another sale. Overall I could not argue the authors points. He pulls together a nice list of case studies and personal examples that lead you to believe that his way is the wave of the future. Just looking at it from a customers point of view, this is how we all want to be treated. I enjoyed the book. It moves fast and provides easy to digest examples. This book is a look at the future, either you hop on board this band wagon or be left in the dust.