John R Dijulius III - The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age

In his newest book, John DiJulius brings his customer service expertise to bear on the question of relationships. How can we build better relationships with our customers that will keep them coming back for more? DiJulius offers a smart prescription that builds on traits you already haveempathy, vulnerability, hospitality, and authenticitywhich will deepen your relationships not only with customers but also with family and friends, old and new.

DANIEL PINK, author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human

Every day, consumers are telling us whats important to them: convenience, service, attention, empathy. Even in a digital age, personal relationships are critical to building trust and loyalty. This well-researched book will provide the inspiration to not simply connect with your customers but also to build real human connections.

RICH KRAMER, Chairman, CEO, and President,
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

If true customer and employee loyalty is what you are looking for, The Relationship Economy will help you and your team build a genuine human connection and improve the impact this connection has on brand experience in the digital age.

LISA LUTOFF-PERLO, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises

I believe each of us can be classified as either a giver or a taker. John DiJulius latest is a must-read; it blares out to all leaders the importance of human interconnectivity at all levels within the organization. Human connectivity creates understanding, which in turn develops empathy, respect, trust, and thriving, growing relationships among leaders, employees, and customers.

REAR ADMIRAL TOM LYNCH, United States Navy, (ret.)
Chairman, NewDay USA

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press
Austin, Texas
www.gbgpress.com

Copyright 2019 John R. DiJulius III

All rights reserved.

Thank you for purchasing an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright law. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Distributed by Greenleaf Book Group

For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Greenleaf Book Group at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709, 512.891.6100.

Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group and Kim Lance
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group and Kim Lance

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.

Print ISBN: 978-1-62634-643-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-62634-644-4

Part of the Tree Neutral program, which offsets the number of trees consumed in the production and printing of this book by taking proactive steps, such as planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees used: www.treeneutral.com

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

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First Edition

Secret Service: Hidden Systems That Deliver
Unforgettable Customer Service (Amacom, 2003)

Whats the Secret? To Providing a World-Class Customer
Experience (Wiley, 2008)

The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow
Conventional Business, Inspire Employees,
and Change the World (Greenleaf, 2015)

The Best Customer Service Quotes Ever Said (Greenleaf, 2016)

To my wonderful family, Claudia, Johnni, Cal, and Bo, each of you inspires me to be a better person every day. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me. I am the luckiest person in the world.

CONTENTS

Todays illiterate are those who have an inability to truly make a deep connection with others.

S ince I was old enough to remember, my lifes obsession was to play shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. I worked at it. I was committed and passionate, and nothing was going to stop me. Except for maybe the lack of a little talent or, in my case, the lack of a lot of talent. No matter how hard I worked, there was absolutely no way I was ever going to play in the big leagues. There are certain genetic skills we are either born with or not. And if not, there is not much we can do about it.

There is one that when mastered will, without question, have the biggest impact on us personally and professionally. That skill is the ability to build an instant connection with others.

There are skills we can develop, however, and of all these, there is one that when mastered will, without question, have the biggest impact on us personally and professionally. That skill is the ability to build an instant connection with others. This is way more than a mere communications skill. It is the ability to communicate with a purposeto build your community at every stage of your life. Building a relationship with someone else, whether an acquaintance, friend, customer, coworker, or a total stranger, is far and away the most important skill every human being should be taught at an early age and then should hone throughout life. This skill should be taught at home, in school from pre-kindergarten to graduate school, and, of course, in business. Unfortunately it is rarely taught in any formal way.

Today we are living in the digital disruption era. Technology has provided us with unprecedented advances, information, knowledge, instant access, and entertainment. We have computers, mobile phones, tablets, the internet, social media, apps, and artificial intelligenceassistants like Siri and Alexa, chatbots, virtual concierges, facial recognition, and self-driving cars.

However, as convenient as these advances make our lives, they also have changed the way we communicate, behave, and think and have led to a dramatic decline in our people skills. As a society we are now relationship disadvantaged. We no longer become curious about others or eager to engage in conversations. The younger generation primarily communicates electronically, and the explosion of ecommerce means we go out less and less. In business, multi-channel communication has dramatically reduced phone calls to companies; customers can get answers and place orders via email, on websites, or through social media channels.

The pendulum has swung over to high tech and low touch. Consequently we long for a sense of community, belonging, and purpose, a world in which people actually know our name, what we do, what is important to us, and have trust in one another. Today trust is an endangered value. Those who understand that human touch is the most important part of any experienceespecially a great customer experiencewill flourish. Personally and professionally, success is increasingly about creating and building human connections.