The Network Is Your Customer: Five Strategies to Thrive in a Digital Age

When I first picked up this book by David Rogers, (a pro­fes­sor at Colum­bia Busi­ness School), I thought it was yet another intro­duc­tion to social com­mu­ni­ca­tion tech­nolo­gies for wary cor­po­rate man­agers. Boy, was I wrong!WHAT'S DIFFERENT...Rather than orga­niz­ing the book around the use of spe­cific social com­mu­ni­ca­tion tools or an exam­i­na­tion of the gen­eral the­ory of dis­rup­tive social tech­nolo­gies, Rogers builds his book around the behav­iors and needs of cus­tomer net­works. The title is quite apt.The writ­ing is acces­si­ble and the book is very well orga­nized and designed to be prac­ti­cal. The first two chap­ters explain the dynam­ics of cus­tomer net­works and social com­mu­ni­ca­tion tech­nolo­gies. Each of the 5 behav­iors he iden­ti­fies are exam­ined in their own chap­ters and mul­ti­ple strate­gies are pre­sented. Next, Rogers ded­i­cates a chap­ter to a spe­cific plan­ning and imple­men­ta­tion process that will help busi­nesses apply these ideas to their spe­cific sit­u­a­tions. He then asks the ques­tions, "What will the orga­ni­za­tion of the future look like?"and "How do we cre­ate an orga­ni­za­tion that is not just customer-focused, but customer-network focused?" Finally, he sys­tem­at­i­cally reviews each of the strate­gies in the book, by ask­ing a series of ques­tions in a `Self-Assessment Quiz'. Inquiry is a pow­er­ful tech­nique for self-reflection, per­son­al­iz­ing the ideas pre­sented here.There are well over 100 case stud­ies spread through­out the book. Com­pa­nies are listed in an Appen­dix, sorted by indus­try. Each case study specif­i­cally illus­trates the strat­egy Rogers is describ­ing. This is an effec­tive approach that makes it very easy to `try on' tech­niques with your orga­ni­za­tion. As I was read­ing the book I found myself tak­ing these case stud­ies and trans­lat­ing them for my clients.THE BIG IDEARogers sug­gests 5 Strate­gies that any busi­ness can use to cre­ate new value by har­ness­ing the power of cus­tomer networks:ACCESS -- be faster, eas­ier, every­where, and always onENGAGE -- become a trusted source of great contentCUSTOMIZE -- make every­thing you offer adapt­able to your customer's needsCONNECT -- become part of your customer's conversationsCOLLABORATE -- involve your cus­tomers at every stage of your enterprise.There is a lot here; much more than an expla­na­tion of dis­rup­tive tech­nol­ogy. Rogers pro­vides a road map, demon­strat­ing tech­niques that will tap the power of cus­tomer net­works, regard­less of your indus­try or the size of your com­pany. Recommended!

Great book to take you in world of customer networks. I would add digital customer networks, as digital technology enabled connecting and exchange of information between endusers.Book is full of rich case studies and Professor Rogers is master of story telling.You will enjoy the reading and benefit from the learnings

Besides that the book is now a little old, it is a excellent reading on the new client - the networks of clients. On one side it is perfectly structured theory with general directions and advices. On other hand, it is full of examples from the real world supporting the theory and the directions. A must read for CMOs, CIOs and CEOs. And very clear connection with the digital transformation.

Dr ROGERS gives a very thorough insight on a customer centric marketing plan. Very valuable.

Digital strategy map assist in clarifying the steps required to achieve a successful digital marketing strategy and to align to your own high level business goals

This is a truly model textbook. To the point, comprehensive, clear, insightful. It makes you understand all the issues in depth. At the same time, it functions as a marketer's guide. Should not be missing from any marketer's bookshelf.

Great book and knowledgeable facts.

A must read as we leave traditional marketing behind.

Great Price and great quality

Very informative.

I read this book after doing a course with Columbia Business School taught by the author. The course was based on this book, and it was great. The book is great as well. I am working on a strategic marketing and communications plan for my institution at the moment and this book helped me fill in gaps and get ideas for what we should be doing to match our users expectation in todays digital world. The model outlined is very useful and the book is written with stories and examples that make everything easy to understand (and remember). If you’re in marketing, read this book.

This is an excellent book. I referred it while persuing my PGDBB from MIT Salon and Columbia Business School. If you are interested in Digital Marketing strategies , this is the book for you

Wer sich schon lange Gedanken gemacht hat, wie sich eine Digitalstrategie für ein Unternehmen oder eine Organisation operationalisieren und v.a. bewerten lässt, findet hier eine gute Grundlage - in vielen Fallbespielen erklärt.