Entrepreneur, marketer discuss customer expectation issues

Posted by Elena del Valle on October 26, 2012

Smart Customers, Stupid Companies book cover

Photos: SmartCustomers.com

In Smart Customers, Stupid Companies why only intelligent companies will thrive, and how to be one of them (Business Strategy Press, $24.95), a book published recently, Michael Hinshaw and Bruce Kasanoff discuss how technology is feeding the needs of smart consumers, requiring companies to stay ahead of market trends to survive.

The 187-page softcover book in color with varied fonts and type sizes is divided into six sections: Smart Customers, Intelligence is Everywhere, A Perfect Storm of Disruptive Innovation, Stupid Companies, Get Smart, and Critical Steps. The project took the authors two years to complete.

The authors believe disruptive forces are affecting business and only companies that respond quickly and efficiently will remain viable in the long term. The four main disruptive forces they describe are: Social Influence, Pervasive Memory, Digital Sensors, and the Physical Web. They believe these forces offer consumers new services, better information, and more choices.

Bruce Kasanoff, coauthor, Smart Customers

Bruce Kasanoff, coauthor, Smart Customers, Stupid Companies

“Two words: Michael Hinshaw. This was a true collaboration, but Michael was driven to make the book visually arresting, and I was driven to make it strategically impactful. We overlapped, of course, but Michael deserves the most credit for the look and feel,” said Kasanoff by email in response to a question about the color design and layout of the book.

“The book is about innovation vs. inertia. Smart wireless technologies are opening up nearly unlimited opportunities for innovative new services, but many companies are dragging along using the same outdated business models. Michael and I say that one-third of Fortune 500 CEOs are running the next Kodak, but they don’t know it yet,” he said in response to a question about the book and its target audience.

Michael Hinshaw, coauthor, Smart Customers

Michael Hinshaw, coauthor, Smart Customers, Stupid Companies

“We wrote the book to let CEOs know that customer experience should be one of their top priorities. Customers have radically greater expectations than even a few years ago, and your company’s future literally depends on your ability to meet or exceed those expectations,” said Hinshaw in response to the same question.

Kasanoff, a blogger at NowPossible.com, has raised $20 million in venture capital and built sales of a new product line to $20 million in three years, according to his bio. Hinshaw, president, Touchpoint Metrics, is also managing director of Mcorp Consulting.