TMI US: Owl Book Review Grove

OWL BOOK REVIEW AVIARY

Patricia B. Seybold, Customers.Com: How to Create a Profitable Business Strategy for the Internet and Beyond
New York: Random House, 1998
ISBN: 0-8129-3037-1

Patricia Seybold learned the customers.com business as a consultant working with companies to help them with their Internet needs. As a result of her exposure, she has a firm grasp of what customers want when they access the Internet.

Basically Seybold's book is filled with examples of what some organizations have done to make their Web pages work for them. One important point she makes is that whatever a company or individual does with their Internet site, it needs to be part of a larger business strategy. Specifically, Internet commerce needs to coordinate with the multifold electronic ways that organizations communicate with customers whether by e-mail, fax, phone, messaging devices, etc.

Seybold sees the Internet as a "logical extension" of any organization's existing business model. In other words, Seybold says that Internet business can't be seen as a new business, but rather as another way to stay in touch with customers. She makes a compelling case for her argument.

I don't disagree with Seybold, but this point of view be somewhat limiting. And very few people can see its limitations--yet. For example, airports are designed very close to the bus transportation model, and as a consequence they are not particularly customer friendly. It is only now that some airports are beginning to make changes in how flight transportation services are offered to customers, such as making arrangements to pick up luggage in downtown areas instead of just at airports.

I would encourage everyone to read this book. It's an important book. At the same time, I would remind all readers that this is our current 1998-1999 view point of how to serve customers on the Internet. It be that our models will change dramatically in the next 10 years.

Janelle Barlow, President
TMI USA

Previous "Owl Book Review Grove" pages:

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    #2 Bennis, An Invented Life

    #3 Morrison, The Second Curve

    #4 Foster, How to Get Ideas

    #5 Bear, Send This Jerk the Bedbug Letter

    #6 Hemphill, Taming the Paper Tiger

    #7 Rifkin, Time Wars

    #8 Pearce, Leading Out Loud

    #9 Kao, Jamming

#10 Tannen, The Argument Culture

#11 Nancy, More Letters From a Nut

#12 Anders, Health Against Wealth

#13 Yates, The Critical Path

#14 Langdon, The New Language of Work

#15 Needleman, Time and the Soul

#16 Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence

#17 Conger, Winning 'Em Over

#18 Shapiro & Jankowski, The Power of Nice

#19 Fradette & Michaud, The Power of Corporate Kinetics

#20 Upshaw, Building Brand Identity

#21 Reis and Trout, Positioning

#22 Spencer, Winning Through Participation

#23 Underhill, Why We Buy

#24 Pine & Gilmore, The Experience Economy

#25 Christensen, The Innovator's Dilemma

#26 Hirschfeld, Business Dad

#27 Harkins, Powerful Conversations

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