The New Market Leaders: Who's Winning and How in the Battle for Customers

Who's winning (and why and how) in the battle for customers has never been more timely or important. Nor has it ever been tougher to document. Fred Wiersema expertly describes how today's customers are smarter and more demanding than ever, besieged by an unlimited choice of goods and services, and more than likely to take their business elsewhere unless their needs are met. He then fulfills this book's promise by naming today's new leaders and how they earned the title.Wiersema's research tracing 5,000 companies, and his new measurement yardsticks of sales growth and market value, further enhance his premise. His examples, including Cisco, EMC, Home Depot, NTTDoCoMo, UPS, Yahoo! and others, and how these firms go about winning and keeping customers, illustrate many of the issues confronting corporate managers today worldwide. Moreover, his definition of "stretch customers" and their importance to profitable growth is a fundamental truth representing a "heads-up" to all senior executives.Wiersema takes you down a path that leads to new perspectives on the drivers of market leadership in today's challenging global environment. He'll have you thinking differently about the essence of what makes market leaders -- and how they stay that way.

Dr. Wiersema's book is valuable information for those looking to better understand how to frame up their position within an increasingly competitive market. Fred's process provides useful measurement options to consider when plotting a path towards market leadership. A great follow-on to his previous "The Discipline of Market Leaders."

In a turbulent economic time when everyone is seeking answers to questions about the future and which companies are going to survive and thrive, Wiersema's book provides an excellent foundation for formulating predictions.It may not be a huge surprise to find out who the New Market Leaders are. But it is interesting to learn about their personal stories, how some of the underdogs made their way to the top, while once sure bets slid toward the bottom. Senior executives and alike will find this material useful in striving to differentiate themselves from their competitors.Fred's theories of achieving market leadership in turbulent times of "customer scarcity" may be one of the most significant challenges facing business leaders today. I'm not sure many would argue that an intense focus on customers and the right technology strategy drive market leadership - but unlike most industry visionaries, Fred backs this up with hard data on the 5,000 companies he tracked.

Dr. Wiersema's perspectives on responses to customer scarcity are right on target with current market conditions. You have only to look at the telecom market today to see what happens when customers can't keep up with the abundance of products and services that keep flooding the market. It will be fascinating to watch the sales-growth index for the companies in my portfolio to make sure they maintaining their pace in growing faster than their peers. Highly recommended for other senior executives looking for a fresh point-of-view on customers that goes beyond the obvious and for investors seeking new metrics for analyzing company performance.

I just finished Wiersema's latest and found it both entertaining and useful. The very personal and revealing stories about the companies are the entertaining part. The author is clearly not an academic type - his information comes from his experiences working with some of the top companies in the world. The most useful part is the new ranking system. I was surprised - and pleased - to see how well his rankings held up post bubble, and found the comparison chart (Apepndix II) fascinating. To me this indicates that Wiersema's method is a good measure of intrinsic value, as opposed to market mania. I think he's on solid ground with this, and we could all use a little solid ground right now.