Customers.Com: Create a Profitable Business Strategy for the Internet Century business: Amazon.co.uk: Patricia B. Seybold: Books

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Lots of books have been written about how to do business on the Internet, but few can match the understanding and passion for making e-commerce work of Patricia Seybold's Customers.com. Drawing on case studies of companies and organizations as diverse as Boeing, Babson College, National Semiconductor, Hertz, PhotoDisc, and Wells Fargo, Seybold identifies what makes e-commerce work successfully. She argues that any e-commerce initiative has to begin with the customer. She writes:

In the electronic commerce world, knowing who your customers are and making sure you have the products and services they want becomes even more imperative than it is in the "real" world.... The corner grocery needs only to approximate what customers really want because the convenience factor brings in the business. But when you eliminate this advantage--when customers can go anywhere to get what they want--you'd better know what they're looking for.

The first section of the book outlines five steps aimed at any organisation grappling with the challenge of doing e-commerce right. The final section offers a technology roadmap and suggestions for getting e-commerce initiatives off the ground. But the heart of the book is the 16 case studies of companies that have successfully embraced e-business and e-commerce. Each is well researched, and includes an executive summary and "take-aways" about what each firm did right. If you're looking to develop your business online, this book belongs on your desk, not your bookshelf. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards, Amazon.com

Upside Books, October 1998

"What sets Customers.com apart is Seybold's 20 years of experience in the technology industry and her straightforward writing style."

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For the E-Commerce and I.T. Unitiated, 24 Feb 2000

By A Customer

This is an excellent introduction to the basic concepts of the Internet and E-commerce. However, it should be avoided by those already in the operating in this industry/ area unless you are looking to get the basics right.

It provides common sense lessons on e-commerce, lessons which anyone already operating in the industry or business in general should already know... otherwise you should question your involvement from the beginning!

For all that, a well written book from an obviously experienced business woman.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best introduction to e-commerce available today, 1 Oct 1999

By A Customer

Patricia Seybold has produced a text book for e-commerce. This book is based on a series of examples of best practice and the lessons are reinforced and then reinforced again. She tells you how things developed, what worked for other people facing the problems that the you may be facing and explains that this is the new frontier; where we look for signposts along a dusty trail to wealth and riches (so we hope). One of her strengths is that she makes it clear that you will have to modify your vision, that you must let customers' reactions dictate the route you take, because the instructions on your map will not be reliable. Patricia also makes it clear that the Internet is now the vehicle for change thoughout organizations, that the new customer-focused business models change the supply chain, that they faciliate customer relationship management and while she provides value insights into the operation of Amazon, amongst other consumer Sites, that the greatest changes are in business to business relationships. I have strongly recommended it to friends and colleagues.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OVERCOME YOUR "STALLED" THINKING ABOUT E-COMMERCE PROFITS, 11 Nov 1999

By A Customer

CUSTOMERS.COM is a very valuable book in that it focuses both on how to serve customers on-line as well as how to make money doing so. Like a good consultant, the author systematically looks at best practices from each of 16 cases, and combines the lessons into a vision of the future best practice (in 2-3 years) that no one is yet doing. This is an outstanding accomplishment, that is not matched in most best practice books.

I also visited the CUSTOMERS.COM Web site to register for the free booklet that is offered, and was pleased to get many ideas for our to improve our own electronic commerce. Be sure to check here from time to time, because the author updates the 16 case histories in the book on the Web site so that you can keep up-to-date. That is an especially nice touch.

Ms. Seybold does a nice job in CUSTOMERS.COM of critiquing each case history for ways that organization could improve. Let me do the same for her book. Several things stand out. First, the book does not go into enough detail about how to find the weaknesses in current operations that will permit greater profitability through changed processes facilitated by electronic commerce. There is a lot of best practice work needed in those areas before you start thinking about electronic commerce. Second, she does not address the question of what the ideal best practice of electronic commerce is. You might think of a well-informed concierge in a great hotel who knows you well as the model. Third, more needs to be done to help you learn how to facilitate the change process. The steps she describes would be very difficult for many organizations to do that are beset by severe stalls in the form of tradition, disbelief, misconceptions, bureaucracy, avoiding the unattractive (such as customer problems), procrastination, and miscommunication. Fourth, the book highlights a lot of very interesting case histories and shows their successes. I was struck that although I am a heavy Web user and a substantial customer of many of these organizations, I did not know about the electronic services they offer. It sounds like many of these organizations still have a communications problem with their customers. Fifth, the available technology will advance a lot in the next five years. I felt the book does not do enought to make people aware of how technology that is not yet available can facilitate the future success of their electronic commerce.

No book can serve all needs in an area, so we can look forward to Ms. Seybold's next book. I enjoyed the personal touch as she described her own experiences with many of the companies involved. I hope she keeps in touch with them and us.