Indispensable

A five-step strategy for turning a commodity into a necessity

When products and services become interchangeable, price becomes the ultimate determinant for consumers. Indispensable shows businesses how to break out of that cycle by using The Five Drivers-a strategy that takes companies to the next level of performance. Renowned business consultant Joe Calloway looks at how real companies have made their product or service "mission critical," and satisfied customers in the process.

Indispensable goes straight to the heart of the issue and reveals how successful companies-of any size, in virtually any manufacturing, selling, or service endeavor-achieve market leadership through The Five Drivers of fierce customer loyalty. Indispensable shows readers how to:
* Create and sustain momentum: overcome organizational inertia and keep moving forward
* Develop habitual dependability: make consistency of performance a defining characteristic
* Connect continuously
* See the Big Picture Outcome: create compelling customer experiences
* Engage, Enchant, Enthrall: make magic in the marketplace

With interviews, detailed case studies, and dozens of real-world, effective customer service ideas and initiatives, Indispensable is just what today's forward-thinking businesses need.

Preface ix

1 The Default Choice 1

2 The Five Drivers 11

3 Case Study: Deluxe 27

4 Back to the Six New Basics 51

5 Case Study: W Hotels 67

6 Create Community 77

7 Case Study: Gitomer 87

8 Obvious but Often Overlooked 97

9 Right Place—Right Time 113

10 Case Study: The Pancake Pantry 125

11 Big Picture Outcome 133

12 Twenty-Eight Indispensable Lessons 145

13 Case Study: Pinnacle Financial Partners 169

14 Repeatable Process 179

15 Stop Apologizing—Start Doing Your Job 189

16 Case Study: LawTalk 197

17 The Customer Decides 203

Index 221

JOE CALLOWAY is a consultant on branding and competitive positioning whose client list reads like a Who's Who in business—from newspapers in Sweden, hotels in Great Britain, and computer companies in South Africa to world brands like BMW and American Express. He speaks frequently on business trends, and has been inducted into the International Speaker's Hall of Fame. He owns an award-winning restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife, Annette, and daughter, Jess. He is also the author of Becoming a Category of One, from Wiley. Intense business competition has made many products and services interchangeable, and made price the ultimate determinant for consumers. When customers know they can get the same product at a lower price from someone else, they will. That is, unless you give them something they can't get anywhere else. Indispensable shows businesses how to break out of the commodity trap and create customer loyalty that overcomes the power of pricing.

The Holy Grail of business is the customer so loyal that they'll do business with you and only you when it comes time to buy. The company that can build that relationship with its customers becomes truly indispensable to them—and destined for market dominance. In Indispensable, renowned business consultant Joe Calloway looks at how real companies have made their products and services indispensable to their customers, and how you can do the same in your business.

Using case studies, interviews, and real-world scenarios, Calloway reveals the Five Drivers of success that virtually all indispensable companies share:

• They create and sustain momentum, overcoming organizational inertia and moving forward constantly
• They develop habitual dependability and consistent performance for their customers
• They maintain a continuous connection by persistently communicating with their customers
• They adopt a big-picture perspective by understanding their own, and their customers', long-term goals
• They engage, enchant, and enthrall, giving their customers more than they need—and more than they expect

These Five Drivers are what take businesses to the next level of customer service performance. Calloway offers dozens of examples of how to develop these characteristics in your organization, and presents detailed case studies that help you put them into practice immediately. The book also includes dozens of real-world, effective ideas and tactics that you can borrow and use to design your own customer service initiative. Indispensable shows business leaders how to use customer service to build companies and brands that customers won't want to live without.

Praise for 1ndispensable

"I loved this book. Joe continues to teach a practical and powerful road map for a company's success through personal connecting and service. Read this book and become truly indispensable to your customers."
—Fred Wilson Chairman and CEO, Saks Fifth Avenue

"If your key customers don't think of you as indispensable, they should. In his latest straight-talking book, Joe Calloway tells you why that is true and teaches you what you need to know to make it happen."
—Larry Morse President, Quill Corporation

"I hate business books. . . too many graphs, studies, and analysis. They make me work. They make me have to figure out how the information will help me. Not this book. Joe has already done the work so I don't have to. Joe tells me great stories of real companies full of real people that entertain me while I learn the lesson. He gives me understandable, easy-to-implement lessons that I know I can do. I hate business books, but I LOVE this one."
—Larry Winget Author of Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life

"If you want to run a truly superior business, this book is practical, sensible, down- to-earth advice on providing customer service that will simply separate you from the competition."
—Joe Scarlett Chairman of the Board, Tractor Supply Company

"Joe Calloway has provided us with another gift—Indispensable. In his book, he takes us on the journey of companies that every day maintain their focus on an ever-ascending, ever-improving path. The journey never ends, but far from discouraging, Joe's book only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. This is a gift that should be opened and shared and provides a lifetime of opportunities for us all."
—Marti Eulberg Executive Vice President, Sales Operations Volvo Cars of North America, LLC