How to Win Customers in the Digital World, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2000
Total Action or Fatal Inaction

Providing a template for seizing the opportunities offfered by digital business technologies, this book presents six real-life cases to demonstrate both the power and risks involved. The authors - both experienced professionals in management education and telecommunications - introduce Total Action concepts and methodologies - where every activity inside the organization is directly relevant for its customers. Winners use these to make front-line people the point of decision making, to unlock information about customers, and to manage the fulfillment of their commitments. The result is a discovery tour of new management concepts that will help your business triumph in todays digital world.
From the reviews: "This book is mandatory reading for every manager and professional." - Thomas Middelhoff, Chairman & CEO Bertelsmann AG; "This is a powerful and straightforward starting point for all managers and organizations seeking to master the new frontiers of business." A.-W. Scheer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board IDS Scheer AG

1. THE BOARDROOM AGENDA: 1.1 Win with your customer; 1.2 The impact of digital business technologies; 1.3 What makes it so difficult?; 1.4 The Total Action scorecard; 1.5 The Total Action model; 1.6 Questions from the board.- 2. DIGITAL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES AND TOTAL ACTION: 2.1 The new digital business technologies; 2.2 Why are digital business technologies so important?; 2.2.1 New ways to reach customers; 2.2.2 Breakthrough - and incredible impact; 2.2.3 Management has to master their use; 2.3 Total Action elements; 2.3.1 Focus on the customer; 2.3.2 Co-ordinate customer information; 2.3.3 Develop excellence in fulfilment; 2.4 The Total Action model.- 3. WEEDING OUT FATAL INACTION: 3.1 What is Fatal Inaction?; 3.2 The roots of Fatal Inaction; 3.3 The characteristics of Fatal Inaction; 3.3.1 The comfort of the internal market; 3.3.2 The boss leads, the customer bleeds; 3.3.3 The wrong metrics; 3.3.4 The customer is an interrupt to the business process; 3.3.5 Corporate autism; 3.3.6 Hardening of the IT arteries; 3.4 Moving out of Fatal Inaction; 3.4.1 Customer-centred leadership; 3.4.2 Customer-centred metrics; 3.4.3 Customer-centred management and planning; 3.4.4 Customer-centred IT; 3.4.5 Customer-centred change; 3.4.6 The 4Ps of Total Action performance; 3.5 The Total Action scorecard; 3.6 The sum is greater than the parts; 4. THE TOTAL ACTION CASEBOOK: 4.1 The casebook approach; 4.2 The US Army case; 4.2.1 The soldier as the locus of decision-making; 4.2.2 People and organising capabilities; 4.2.3 Lessons for Total Action; 4.3 The American Airlines case; 4.3.1 Accelerate the process; 4.3.2 Manage the service encounter; 4.3.3 Capture information streams; 4.3.4 Build knowledge of the customer; 4.3.5 Build the value cluster - become the industry infomediary; 4.3.6 Lessons for Total Action; 4.4 Banking on information: the First Direct case; 4.4.1 The 'misery' of banking; 4.4.2 Making it work for the customer;4.4.3 Information empowers customer leadership; 4.4.4 Lessons for Total Action; 4.5 Total Action policing; 4.5.1 Find out who is the 'customer'?; 4.5.2 All activity is not customer activity; 4.5.3 The wrong metrics... it's not what you do!; 4.5.4 Connect information systems; 4.5.5 Make the customer the locus of decision making; 4.5.6 Create the information platforms; 4.5.7 Lessons for Total Action; 4.6 Trying to connect to you; 4.6.1 Recognise the individual customer; 4.6.2 Organise customer information; 4.6.3 Customise services; 4.6.4 Connect sales to the factory; 4.6.5 Overcome autistic behaviour; 4.6.6 Lessons for Total Action; 4.7 The postman never rings twice; 4.7.1 Who is my customer?; 4.7.2 Build a customer dashboard; 4.7.3 Manage the customer-specific value chain; 4.7.4 Design the service encounter; 4.7.5 Lessons for Total Action.- 5. ENGAGING OUTSIDE-IN: THE ROUTE TO TOTAL ACTION: 5.1 The challenges of Total Action; 5.2 Why should we do this... and what's different?; 5.3 Where - and how - do we begin?; 5.4 Mindset over matter; 5.5 What next?.- NOTES.- BIBLIOGRAPHY.- INDEX.- ABOUT THE AUTHORS