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The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age
Creating Authentic Customer Connections in a High-Tech World
In The Relationship Economy, author John DiJulius teaches business leaders about the importance of relationship building in the digital age. He argues that in spite of (and because of) the advances in tech, we've become a less connected society. We have dramatically evolved away from face-to-face communication, and the skill of building rapport is evaporating. This means that customer personalization and relationships are more important now than ever--and they will be the key to success for businesses moving forward. As he aptly states, "Being able to build true sustainable relationships is the biggest competitive advantage in a world where automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are eliminating the human experience, which is what creates the emotional connections that build true customer loyalty." This book reminds readers of the importance of personal connections and shows them how to attain meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers.
In The Relationship Economy, author John DiJulius teaches business leaders about the importance of relationship building in the digital age. He argues that in spite of (and because of) the advances in tech, we've become a less connected society. We have dramatically evolved away from face-to-face communication, and the skill of building rapport is evaporating. This means that customer personalization and relationships are more important now than ever--and they will be the key to success for businesses moving forward. As he aptly states, "Being able to build true sustainable relationships is the biggest competitive advantage in a world where automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are eliminating the human experience, which is what creates the emotional connections that build true customer loyalty." This book reminds readers of the importance of personal connections and shows them how to attain meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers.
248 pages, Hardcover
Published October 8, 2019
46 people are currently reading
596 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 27, 2019
If you are looking for a boom that will teach you new things about customer experience, this one is highly recommended. The author was able to share his experience-based wisdom on what makes great customer experience happen in your organization, from the front line all the way up to the top.
The moat important lesson I learned from this book is about FORD. This acronym stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Dreams. A healthy amount of conversations about these topics solidifies relationship amongst individuals.
Other than this, you will learn a great deal on other topics. For a short book, it was able to share a lot of insights in customer experience.
The moat important lesson I learned from this book is about FORD. This acronym stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Dreams. A healthy amount of conversations about these topics solidifies relationship amongst individuals.
Other than this, you will learn a great deal on other topics. For a short book, it was able to share a lot of insights in customer experience.
November 11, 2019
I am a small business owner of a service company. I am having all our Team Associates read this book to learn the importance of building customer relations. Especially with younger employees, there is more emphasis on using email and social media to communicate with clients. This book emphasizes the importance of true connection (face to face, etc.) to build relationships with customers.
October 10, 2019
Great read. Well laid out and followed by amazing chapter summaries. Great examples and simple to apply theories
January 9, 2021
I started reading this book during the beginning of the pandemic. It became even more relevant at that time.
We need to fully engage with people again. It's so important.
We need to fully engage with people again. It's so important.
October 11, 2019
John Dijulius III’s book The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age is the fifth book from the president of The Dijulius Group. The group is a customer service consulting firm with a mandate to change the world by initiating a revolution in how company’s approach customer service. Dijulius’ first business enterprise, John Robert’s Spa, opened in 1993 and now employs more than one hundred and fifty people while also ranking as one of America’s top 20 salons. Dijulius founded the nonprofit Believe in Dreams, to work with economically disadvantaged young people in realizing their potential. The Ohio resident has worked with a star-studded array of top flight companies like Progressive Insurance, Chick-fil-A, The Ritz-Carlton, and Lexus, among others, promoting the methodology and philosophy guiding his ideas of elite customer service. The Relationship Economy is his most detailed examination yet of that methodology and his philosophical concerns.
AUTHOR WEBPAGE: http://thedijuliusgroup.com/
Dijulius divides the book into eleven chapters along with an index for readers to reference. Most of the chapters are short, though some require longer lengths in order for Dijulius to do justice to the subject at hand. The chapters cover a wide gamut of topics such as the current state of customer service, the importance of personalizing the customer service experience, and stressing the importance of seizing the moment, among others. The Relationship Economy proceeds in a linear fashion; Dijulius first reviews the evolution of customer service, where the business world currently stands in this regard, and the direction this facet of the consumer experience is following. This provides readers with important initial grounding before the book’s detail deepens and expands.
He touches on familiar points along the way. Any observant reader will agree with his take on modern society becoming connection-adverse. Our technological advancements shelter us from establishing the personal connections earlier generations enjoyed. Dijulius expands on this by citing the numerous benefits face to face interactions have on human lives; not only are we mentally better off, but our physical health benefits as well. Dijulius unequivocally believes that successful businesses with staying power are those who, despite technological advancements, place a premium on building relationships with their customer base and maps out the essentials for doing so.
AMAZON: https://amzn.to/31YxCmD
The Relationship Economy’s chapters include a “takeaways” section at the end of each summarizing its contents in concise bullet points. Relying on these sections alone to experience the book will prove insufficient, however; readers will lose out on the wealth of research Dijulius incorporates into the text. He pulls from an impressive array of data sources and cites concrete examples substantiating his ideas but they never dominate the book. It is, in the end, John Dijulius’ voice and intellect that powers The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age and makes it indispensable reading for this era in our history. It is a work readers can return to over time and offers a consistent forward thinking vision for 21st century businesses that will not date for years to come.
AUTHOR WEBPAGE: http://thedijuliusgroup.com/
Dijulius divides the book into eleven chapters along with an index for readers to reference. Most of the chapters are short, though some require longer lengths in order for Dijulius to do justice to the subject at hand. The chapters cover a wide gamut of topics such as the current state of customer service, the importance of personalizing the customer service experience, and stressing the importance of seizing the moment, among others. The Relationship Economy proceeds in a linear fashion; Dijulius first reviews the evolution of customer service, where the business world currently stands in this regard, and the direction this facet of the consumer experience is following. This provides readers with important initial grounding before the book’s detail deepens and expands.
He touches on familiar points along the way. Any observant reader will agree with his take on modern society becoming connection-adverse. Our technological advancements shelter us from establishing the personal connections earlier generations enjoyed. Dijulius expands on this by citing the numerous benefits face to face interactions have on human lives; not only are we mentally better off, but our physical health benefits as well. Dijulius unequivocally believes that successful businesses with staying power are those who, despite technological advancements, place a premium on building relationships with their customer base and maps out the essentials for doing so.
AMAZON: https://amzn.to/31YxCmD
The Relationship Economy’s chapters include a “takeaways” section at the end of each summarizing its contents in concise bullet points. Relying on these sections alone to experience the book will prove insufficient, however; readers will lose out on the wealth of research Dijulius incorporates into the text. He pulls from an impressive array of data sources and cites concrete examples substantiating his ideas but they never dominate the book. It is, in the end, John Dijulius’ voice and intellect that powers The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age and makes it indispensable reading for this era in our history. It is a work readers can return to over time and offers a consistent forward thinking vision for 21st century businesses that will not date for years to come.
April 25, 2020
This book was way better than I was anticipating. I would have loved to read more I was actually sad to see it end. I should have known when I saw the 4.5 star review. I love that this comes from a person that has been in the industry and works with some of the most customer centric businesses out there. Some of the general information reminds me of Gary vaynerchuk, and understanding that technology is the tool but you're caring behavior and drive to help somebody solve a problem while building those meaningful relationships is the real purpose. I genuinely would like to know if John R. Dijulius III has a Masterclass, because I would definitely join that.
October 6, 2019
We are living in the age of social impact, relationships based economy and deep customer engagement that influence buses and brands. These relationships are powered by digital. It has never been easier and extremely difficult to build a business. This is a good book on why and how build social relationships between customers and brands.
May 21, 2020
John DiJulius is the real deal of Customer Service and this book does a great job of reflecting his experience as an entrepreneur, his knowledge gained from consulting around the globe, and his insights honed from his deep curiosity on the topic. Well written for reflection, idea creation, and action.
May 28, 2020
I'll be re-reading this book!
May 12, 2021
Fantastic book about how human connection (personal and business) will never, ever not be needed!
November 17, 2023
Not bad per se, but 90% of the book is just a repeat of his previous books. The other 10% is just advertisements for his services. If you have read “The Customer Service Revolution”, skip this one.
May 28, 2022
This is a ridiculously bad book on multiple levels. I am shocked by the high reviews. If I were teaching business people to think critically about what they read, I would use this book as an example of bad thinking. Page after page, the author draws conclusions that do not logically follow from the data he presents.
The author's contention is that technology fails to build relationships and that companies need more people to do that. Chapter after chapter he complains about poor customer experiences without offering any data to support his contention that this is because companies are augmenting their customer experience (from buying to receiving support) with technology. His answer is more people, people who are trained to hold hands with the customer.
Yet, as I noted above, he has no data to support his entire thesis. I think he had a bad call with his cable company and decided to write the book. Look, we all know what getting lost in a bad phone system looks like or being on hold for hours looks like. We know examples where technology does not help. But the survey data is clear: Customers want tech touch. They just want it to work. Customers don't want companies falling all over themselves to deliver exemplary service. They just want to receive what they've been promised.
Let's walk through a few quotes from the book to prove my point about how badly written it is:
This is a central assertion for which DiJulius presents only anecdotal evidence. There is actually research he could have found and presented to support this thesis if he had tried even a little. His thesis also directly contradicts research by Gartner that shows that what customers want is for us to deliver what we promised and that delivering "the best possible customer experience" costs more and does not deliver better customer loyalty than delivering what we promise.
This is a powerful statement. It's a CRISIS, the author claims. Yet he presents not one shred of evidence. No churn numbers. No customer satisfaction surveys. We have to adapt because DiJulius pulled the fire alarm.
And then he goes on to actually contradict his entire thesis:
Yes! AI is actually driving personalized experiences! He contradicts his entire thesis that technology is failing us and that we need people to deliver personalized experiences.
In yet another chapter, DiJulius opines:
And yet brick and mortar is dying! Sales survey after sales survey says that consumers would rather learn about a product and purchase a product using technology. The brick and mortar chains that survive will be the ones connected to supply chains by technology and connected to customers by technology. That connection to their customers via technology will be precisely to create a personalized experience that gets them into the store to experience something they cannot experience online!
This book defies reality. It is torturously bad. Mr DiJulius does not understand technology, technology trends, or what B2C and B2B customers want. He has seen a real problem (that technology can be frustrating and even dehumanizing) but advocates an illogical solution (that we abandon technology in favor of human interactions) that is neither what people really want, what is actually affective, or in the realm of possibly happening. If you follow this book, your costs for interacting with customers will increase and your ability to sell and provide service to your customers will be limited to what humans can provide while your competitors augment and enhance the value of human interaction with technology.
The author's contention is that technology fails to build relationships and that companies need more people to do that. Chapter after chapter he complains about poor customer experiences without offering any data to support his contention that this is because companies are augmenting their customer experience (from buying to receiving support) with technology. His answer is more people, people who are trained to hold hands with the customer.
Yet, as I noted above, he has no data to support his entire thesis. I think he had a bad call with his cable company and decided to write the book. Look, we all know what getting lost in a bad phone system looks like or being on hold for hours looks like. We know examples where technology does not help. But the survey data is clear: Customers want tech touch. They just want it to work. Customers don't want companies falling all over themselves to deliver exemplary service. They just want to receive what they've been promised.
Let's walk through a few quotes from the book to prove my point about how badly written it is:
In other words, the customer service revolution is about having a fanatical obsession to deliver the best possible customer experience, making it your single biggest competitive advantage.
This is a central assertion for which DiJulius presents only anecdotal evidence. There is actually research he could have found and presented to support this thesis if he had tried even a little. His thesis also directly contradicts research by Gartner that shows that what customers want is for us to deliver what we promised and that delivering "the best possible customer experience" costs more and does not deliver better customer loyalty than delivering what we promise.
Businesses have created this situation for themselves by not focusing on the customer experience, not making it a priority, and not training customer-facing employees how to connect with customers. Yes, this is a crisis; but it’s also a potential turning point: Organizations and professionals can complain, or they can adapt to what the future holds.
This is a powerful statement. It's a CRISIS, the author claims. Yet he presents not one shred of evidence. No churn numbers. No customer satisfaction surveys. We have to adapt because DiJulius pulled the fire alarm.
And then he goes on to actually contradict his entire thesis:
In a world where the answer to almost any question is at our fingertips, where AI is becoming a part of everyday life, and where we can get a week’s worth of groceries delivered to our homes in less than an hour, consumers and business buyers have come to expect highly contextual and personalized experiences,” noted the authors of the paper.
Yes! AI is actually driving personalized experiences! He contradicts his entire thesis that technology is failing us and that we need people to deliver personalized experiences.
In yet another chapter, DiJulius opines:
“Where I see a massive advantage for brick and mortar stores is in the basic human need to interact with another human. This won’t happen on Amazon, even with Alexa. Store team members can create a positive interpersonal experience that can’t EVER be created online. This is one key advantage over Amazon and other online retailers, which needs to be exploited to its utmost.
And yet brick and mortar is dying! Sales survey after sales survey says that consumers would rather learn about a product and purchase a product using technology. The brick and mortar chains that survive will be the ones connected to supply chains by technology and connected to customers by technology. That connection to their customers via technology will be precisely to create a personalized experience that gets them into the store to experience something they cannot experience online!
This book defies reality. It is torturously bad. Mr DiJulius does not understand technology, technology trends, or what B2C and B2B customers want. He has seen a real problem (that technology can be frustrating and even dehumanizing) but advocates an illogical solution (that we abandon technology in favor of human interactions) that is neither what people really want, what is actually affective, or in the realm of possibly happening. If you follow this book, your costs for interacting with customers will increase and your ability to sell and provide service to your customers will be limited to what humans can provide while your competitors augment and enhance the value of human interaction with technology.
April 2, 2020
I was excited (and still am) to have received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. The book has many many many excellent suggestions to help make a lasting and meaningful connection with customers, employees and everybody we meet. I highlighted so much of this book. I’m retired from Marketing but continue to be interested. This book helped me in ways that have nothing to do with selling. Im glad I read it.
October 23, 2019
An interesting book, nonetheless a mix of Customer Service ideas and DiJulius Group advertising.
DiJulius highlights the importance of customer relationship in all facets of business; customers, employees, leadership, human interaction in general.
Some ideas worth highlighting are the importance of service as a true differentiation factor. Most vendors of any product or service meet pretty well the requirements of the market, hence what becomes the true loyalty driver is service. "Customer Loyalty is a result of the multiple micro-experiences a person has with a brand. It reflects the fact that not only is that business consistently brilliant a the basics, but also that it has taught all its employees to be present in the moment at each of its touch points."
Another one is the FORD (Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams) technique as a tool to foster relationships. "FORD represents people's hot buttons, what each individual cares about the most. FORD is what they are passionate about. It is the topics that make them light up."
A corollary of the FORD technique is accepting Kalina Silverman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDbxq... invitation to skip the Small Talk for the Big Talk to connect with anyone.
Some closing remarks worth sharing: "World-class service is not something you do or deliver; it is something that is in you, in all areas of your life".
DiJulius highlights the importance of customer relationship in all facets of business; customers, employees, leadership, human interaction in general.
Some ideas worth highlighting are the importance of service as a true differentiation factor. Most vendors of any product or service meet pretty well the requirements of the market, hence what becomes the true loyalty driver is service. "Customer Loyalty is a result of the multiple micro-experiences a person has with a brand. It reflects the fact that not only is that business consistently brilliant a the basics, but also that it has taught all its employees to be present in the moment at each of its touch points."
Another one is the FORD (Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams) technique as a tool to foster relationships. "FORD represents people's hot buttons, what each individual cares about the most. FORD is what they are passionate about. It is the topics that make them light up."
A corollary of the FORD technique is accepting Kalina Silverman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDbxq... invitation to skip the Small Talk for the Big Talk to connect with anyone.
Some closing remarks worth sharing: "World-class service is not something you do or deliver; it is something that is in you, in all areas of your life".
January 8, 2020
The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age is a well written insightful resource offering relatable language, examples and data throughout an organized text with chapter summaries and highlighted quotations. #GoodreadsGiveaway.
Want to read
November 11, 2019Thank you for the opportunity to review this book as a giveaway recipient. I am excited to read it and will update my thoughts on this book soon!
December 31, 2019
A great read with interesting customer relations ideas.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews