Addressing the use of current technology in building customer loyalty, this practical, easily readable book explains how technology can enhance customer loyalty by exceeding expectations in small but significant ways. It teaches how to surprise customers with pleasant experiences, enabling companies to increase profitability.This book covers the following topics: success and customer loyalty, customer turnoffs and expectations, using technology as a loyalty-building enabler, and the management of that technology.For customer support representatives, help desk analysts, technical support staff, and other customer care professionals.

The phrase "technology revolution" has become a bit of a cliche. Everyone agrees that technology has impacted the lives of 21st-century people dramatically. Ways of communicating and processing information thought to be impossible just a few short years ago are commonplace today.But what is the impact of technology on the human side of business and organizations? How does today's technology alter the ways we interact with each other in everyday transactions? And, more specifically, how does technology affect the ways organizations attract and keep good customers?These questions provide the rationale for this book. But let us warn you that the book may not be exactly what you anticipate. Yes, we deal with technology in several important forms, but it is not a techy book. It's a book about using technology to assist in the creation of human relationshipsspecifically, relationships involving commerce.We focus on the kinds of technology most often associated with customer interaction: call centers, web pages, customer relationship management (CRM). For our techno-savvy readers this material will provide a concise review of the mechanics and a liberal dose of application ideas. For our readers who are less familiar with technology, this material will teach the basics you need to understand the many ways it enables companies to truly develop and sustain customer loyalty.No company can long survive in today's business environment without some technology. No business person can expect career growth without a working knowledge of technology--especially as it interfaces with the all-important task of building customer loyalty.We would like to thank the reviewers of this book, who offered constructive suggestions for its improvement: Rick C. Farr, Ph.D., Utah State Valley College, and Sherron Bienvenue, Ph.D., Emory University.We hope you will enjoy and benefit from this book. ICs founding premise is that no task is more important than maintaining excellent customer service and that today's technology can be a significant asset in accomplishing that goal.Paul R. Timm Christopher C. Jones