What Customers Really Want: Bridging the Gap Between What Your Company Offers and What Your Clients Crave

This book does an excellent job of pointing out the common misconceptions businesses have about what they think their customers want compared to what they really need. I don't know that I would say it is a wake-up call to all business owners and/or professionals (certainly it is for some), but it is definitely a much needed reminder to constantly evaluate what we are really doing and to make the necessary changes to meet the needs of our customers.

If you thought Customer Satisfaction was enough to ensure a thriving business, you would be dead wrong! Get this book and see what Customers REALLY want. Great ideas, straight forward information, easy to implement advice.

This was a great book! My boss liked it so much he ordered one for each of our main managers and had them read it. Excellent job!

Our training company has presented 2-day programs on customer service for 25 years--so I'm very familiar with most of the books out there on this subject. McKain's book stands out for three key reasons: 1) The slant or focus of the book is fresh--it focuses on customer experience, not customer service (read that "customer processing." 2) It has a helpful, extensive Executive Summary at the end of each chapter. Not your typical 2-paragraph ending, but a 3-page summary with the guts of the chapters netted out for a quick skim. 3) The "Bridge Building" section at the end of each chapter contains a long list of actionable items--perfect for developing training modules and saying to your customer service or call center manager: "Go thou and do likewise." In short, it's an engaging, impressive book.

Much is written about customers and customer service; little is new. If you're looking for new ideas and/or a new take on customers and how to better serve them, I recommend this book. I was fortunate enough to read the manuscript of this book before it was published and yes, I gave an endorsement that appears on the dust jacket. Of course you'd only know what I said if you actually bought the book. In short, Scott McKain is an experienced businessperson and speaker/consultant. As such, he is also an excellent communicator. What that means to you is that you'll get the benefit of his insights written in an easy-to-read and easier-to-implement book. In the interest of full-disclosure: Scott is a friend and colleague. But I'd recommend this book if I didn't know him from a box of rocks. It is a terrific book.