Worthy Customer Service Reads

This evening (Thursday) I'm speaking about marketing and customer experience to an MBA class, at Pacific Lutheran University located south of Seattle.

I plan to share my experiences at Starbucks, ARAMARK and Disney... with particular emphasis on - customer focus, customer expectations, service strategy and closing service gaps. I'll let you know how it goes.

The professor, Merl Simpson, uses the textbook - "Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm" by Valarie Ziethaml & Mary Jo Bitner.

Most of the books I read are traditional bookstore business books... not college text. This book was a great read...

For the MBAs, I've put together a list of the service related books on my shelves that they may want to check out...

Here it is:

• All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World - Seth Godin
  
  
• BE OUR GUEST: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service - The Disney Institute
  
  
• Creating and Delivering Totally Awesome Customer Experiences - Gary W. Millet | Blaine W. Millet
  
  
• Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force - Jackie Huba | Ben McConnell
  
  
• Customer Experience Management: A Revolutionary Approach to Connecting with Your Customers - Bernd H. Schmitt | Bernd Schmitt
  
  
• Free Prize Inside!: The Next Big Marketing Idea - Seth Godin
  
  
• Improvise This! How to Think on Your Feet So You Don't Fall on Your Face - Mark Bergren | Molly Cox
  
  
• Managing the Customer Experience: Turning Customers into Advocates - Shaun Smith | Joe Wheeler
  
  
• Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers - Seth Godin
  
  
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable - Seth Godin
  
  
• The Customer Revolution: How To Thrive When Customers Are In Control - Patricia Seybold | Ronni T. Marshak
  
  
• The Disney Way - Bill Capodaglia | Lynn Jackson
  
  
• Uncommon Practice: People Who Deliver A Great Brand Experience - Shaun Smith | Andy Milligan
  

Comments

[Lisa]

Have you read Glen Urban's new book about marketing and customer service? Glen is a former MIT Dean and is a current director of MIT ebusiness center.

See http://mitsloan.mit.edu/newsroom/2005-urban.php for more infomation about his new book.

[Dustin]

You sethophile.

[Phil Gerbyshak]

Quite a list you have here. Looks like I've got some reading to do...Thanks for sharing!

[johnmoore (from brandautopsy)]

Missing from this list is DISCOVERING THE SOUL OF SERVICE (Leonard Berry). I highly recommend it! You can read a sum-up here (.pdf).

[Joe]

A great book to nail the nuts and bolts of customer experience and customer strategy is Passionate & Profitable: Why Customer Strategies Fail and Ten Steps to do them Right by Lior Arussey. Thorough, insightful, and easy to follow.

I have a few others listed at: Customer Experience Management Books