If you accidentally try to order the same song twice from iTunes, you’ll be warned that you already own it. Not because it would be illegal or unethical for Apple to profit from your forgetfulness. There’s a clear business reason: the leaders of iTunes realize there’s no better way to make you trust them than to be totally honest when you least expect it. In the age of the Web, smartphones, and social networks, every action an organization takes can be exposed and critiqued in real time. Nothing is local or secret anymore. If you treat one customer unfairly, produce one shoddy product, or try to gouge one price, the whole world may find out in hours, if not minutes. The users of Twitter, Yelp, Epinions, and similar outlets show little mercy for bad behavior. The bar for trustworthiness is higher than ever and continuing to rise. Don Peppers and Martha Rogers argue that the only sane response to these rising levels of transparency is to protect the interests of customers proactively, before they have a chance to spread negative buzz—even if that requires spending extra money in the short run to preserve your reputation and customer relationships in the long run. The payoff of generating extreme trust will be worth it. The authors show how this trend is playing out in many different sectors. Among their insights: Banks will soon have to stop relying on overdraft charges, because depositers will expect advance warnings of low balances. Retailers will be expected to remind shoppers when they have unused balances on their gift cards. Credit card companies will have to coach customers on avoiding excessive borrowing. Cell phone providers will win more business by helping customers find the cheapest calling plans for their usage patterns. Health insurers will make recommendations based on improving long-term health, not increasing their revenue. The companies that Peppers and Rogers call “trustable” remember what they learn from each interaction, and they use these insights to create better and better customer experiences. They focus on winning the long-term battle for trust and loyalty, even if the dollar value of that trust is hard to quantify. For instance, in 2009 Best Buy launched Twelpforce, a service that responds to customer questions and problems via Twitter. It’s manned part time by more than two thousand employees. In its first year of operation Twelpforce responded to nearly thirty thousand inquiries—which not only improved customer service but also helped educate and motivate the associates who participated. The short-term profit might be small but the impact on trust is enormous. With a wealth of fascinating research as well as practical applications, this book will show you how to earn—and keep—the extreme trust of everyone your company interacts with.
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“‘Trust is the new black.’ We all rely on those we trust, and that’s particularly true when it comes to business. Extreme Trust talks about how trust is increasingly critical in business, and how trustworthiness, or its absence, has become increasingly visible. It discusses what trustworthy behavior means in business, and how to change corporate culture to make it more genuinely trustable.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist.com
“This book is a must-read for anyone leading an organization. The future is coming and it’s coming fast. Peppers and Rogers’ insights and advice will lead you through this remarkable time of change. Simply indispensable.”
— John Costello, chief global marketing and innovation officer, Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.“Extreme Trust has shown us not only why it is so wrong that we take that for granted, but why it is so costly. It’s the first book that really lays out a practical model for the evolution of business—big business—and it is brilliant.”
— Jennifer Evans, CEO of Sequentia“Despite the shifting sands of time, Peppers and Rogers remind us what we never should have forgotten. Extreme trust is the only foundation to build on. This is the best book yet from this insightful duo!”
— Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman of CarlsonBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Don Peppers is the coauthor of several books, including the global bestseller The One to One Future. Widely credited with igniting the global customer strategy revolution in business, he is the cofounder of the Peppers & Rogers Group, a global management consulting firm whose clients have included Vodafone Group, Cigna, American Heart Association, Nordstrom, Absa Bank (Barclays), and HM Revenue & Customs (UK). A globally renowned keynote presenter and boardroom strategist, he is an expert blogger at fastcompany.com.
Martha Rogers, PhD, is the coauthor of several books, including the global bestseller The One to One Future. Widely credited with igniting the global customer strategy revolution in business, she is the cofounder of the Peppers & Rogers Group, a global management consulting firm whose clients have included Vodafone Group, Cigna, American Heart Association, Nordstrom, Absa Bank (Barclays), and HM Revenue & Customs (UK). A globally renowned keynote presenter and boardroom strategist, she is on the faculty at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.