Kill the Competition--With Customer Care! What is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage? Loyal Customers.

When all things are equal in product, customers look for what makes the provider exceptional. And with so many competitors vying for each customer, the buyer's tolerance for poor service is lower than ever. By providing exceptional customer service, you keep customers coming back, time after time. You'll sell more and you sell more profitably since it costs more to attract a new customer than to keep a previous one coming back. In addition, returning customers are more likely to buy more expensive - and more profitable - goods and services.

Providing tips that are easy to understand and implement, Killer Customer Care shows you how to deliver Five-Star customer service - and double and triple your profits along the way! It's not just a book about customer care principles, although it's loaded with great ideas on gaining and maintaining customer loyalty. You also get concrete examples of how to (and not to) apply those ideas.

You get tips on how to:

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• Set and communicate customer-care standards .
• Understand the dynamics of face-to-face contact, and use it to your advantage .
• Exceed customer expectations .
• Empower employees .
• Follow up .
• Measure customer satisfaction .
• See your business from the customers view .
• Anticipate needs.

Who is George Colombo? As a book reviewer, I can't tell you. There is nothing in his book that offers an author profile, biography, or credentials. I'm often inspired to read books because of the qualifications that give the author authenticity and standing to present ideas for my consideration. Without this knowledge, I was handicapped, but was attracted to the volume partly by the title, and partly by the subtitle.

The word "killer" implies to me that the strategies or tactics presented in the book will equip me to dominate the competition. Customer CARE, rather than the customary use of the word SERVICE, also caught my attention. The subtitle referring to "customer service that will double and triple profits" validates that the author recognizes the relationship between taking care of the customer and taking care of the bottom line. Unfortunately, acknowledging that critical relationship is missing from most how-to books in this field.

The 25 chapters of this book are organized into four sections: The One Critical Factor for Success in the 21st Century, Laying the Groundwork for Killer Customer Care, Implementing Your Killer Customer Care Program, and Keeping Your Killer Customer Care Program on Track. The titles of the chapters alone will stimulate and remind you of things that must be done, and will guide you to practical tactics and illustrations of the techniques. The organization of the book, presented in the table of contents, makes this a good book to read from cover to cover, as well as an easy-to-use reference tool. A comprehensive index adds to the value.

Colombo emphasizes his position that service is more transaction-oriented, compared to customer care that implies a long-term relationship. While that position is stated clearly, the distinction is not carried through with an obvious emphasis in the text. The same deficiency occurs with the "killer" concept: the word "killer" is used in the text, it is applied more as a contextual theme, rather that a differentiating factor. The book does not compare traditional customer service with killer customer care as it could to make the concept really come alive. Opening comments suggest the book is intended for senior executives, yet the unusual size of the book and cover design are atypical for what would appeal to executives.

Killer Customer Care is filled with valuable tactics, including important management considerations such as measurement and teaching of the concepts. It will be a worthwhile read for owners of small and medium-sized businesses seeking approaches to building long-term relationships with customers. It's definitely a management book, rather than one to be read by the people on the front line who are most responsible for generating the kind of customer care that establishes and sustain lifetime-value loyalty. This book will also be valuable for managers of franchises, dealerships, and branch locations of larger companies. It portrays the role, and how to support it, in ways that will equip managers to carry the message to their people.

Solid instructions, simply put--it's a winning formula that George Colombo has followed to perfection in this book that deserves a place on the bookshelf of any executive charged with turning one-time buyers into long-term customers.

Colombo doesn't depend on esoteric formulas or exotic inspiration; everything in this book is based on in-depth knowledge of business as its conducted in the real world. The ideas presented should be Business 101 for building a company, but too many owners and managers neglect the basics until it's too late.

If taking orders from occasional buyers is all you want to do, then this book isn't for you. But if you want to build a genuine long-term business relationship with good customers, Colombo's lessons will be useful every step of the way.

Having owned two companies and working in a customer support area before that I can say that is book is full of concepts and tactics that really work. This book is not just about customer service in its classical form, but about all of your interactions with your existing and potential customers. I was amazed at how much George was able to teach me, a seasoned veteran. I pride myself on providing a fabulous customer experience and there are so many things in this book that I had never considered before. A big difference in this book than other business books is the fact you can take bits and pieces of the ideas and integrate them into your business right now. It is not a all-or-nothing approach. I dig it. Worth the time you'll invest in reading. The format is great too. Sidebars make for an entertaining read and show application. Buy it.

George Colombo's third book hits paydirt. His ideas are tested and true. His presentation is clear, direct, concise, easily importable, and stems from the the street smarts of this apostle of common sense. The lay-out and design are clear and attractive. The sidebar material teases out the most relevant material for busy managers and jumps off the pages as a tutorial for busy people. I'm already looking forward to George's fourth offering. Try it... it works!

I read this book over the week-end and will be changing some things around the company on Monday. I have to compliment the author on crafting a business book that's fun to read. Few people do this. I like the way it's laid-out -- it gives the reader a lot to read without having a text-heavy look.

Cool stuff. I'll be saying Delta Principle at every opportunity (MacDonald's "Gourmet Cafe" comes to mind).