Steven Van Belleghem - The Conversation Company: Boost Your Business through Culture, People and Social Media

Praise for The Conversation Company

When customers ring a call centre, they often have to go through endless automated waiting lines first before they can ask their question. It happens too often that customers are not helped sufficiently. Many company leaders consider their call centre to be a debit entry. They think that every call solves a problem. However both satisfied and unsatisfied customers share their experiences and sometimes their frustrations with family and friends. Their image of your brand is determined by all customer interactions, not only by the smooth advertising messages. Steven Van Belleghem gives tangible and strong examples which explain the power of turning the vicious circle around. How does the supermarket help teach the management a lesson, and which basic elements compose the success of a successful Conversation Company.

Philippe Rogge, CEO, Microsoft Belgium

Imagine the power at your control. If you have ten thousand happy customers who each have a hundred Facebook or Twitter friends, thats potentially a million positive conversations about your company! Steven Van Belleghem shows you how to tap that amazing free resource to grow your business now.

David Meerman Scott, Author

At Zappos, we found that the more we invested into customer service and the customer experience, the more we grew from word-of-mouth. The Conversation Company is for anyone interested in transforming a companys service level.

Tony Hsieh, NY Times best-selling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc

Studio 100 strongly believes in a we-culture. An open and authentic company culture is the foundation of a successful company. The vision and insights from The Conversation Company will inspire any company manager to see culture as the foundation of positive and influential marketing. A must read for every manager.

Like nobody else, Steven Van Belleghem again puts the consumer literally at the CENTRE of modern company management, the main difference being that consumer ownership is not only contained in the marketers job description, but in that of all employees. In the end conversation with consumers becomes the responsibility of all employees, not just of marketers. Steven helps you start appealing to this underused conversation potential.

Hans Bourlon, CEO, Studio100

The customer should not know only the marketing department. The entire company should be close to the customer, in order to listen to his needs. By closing the gap between customer and company, you created an openness to involve customers in the companys policy. That is how customers and collaborators become the best salesmen together. Steven succeeded again in inspiring via his book.

Piet Decuypere, CEO, Danone, The Netherlands

All signs point at consumers wanting to connect and have conversations on a personal, one-on-one basis with brands and the companies that make them. Consumers want to be personally engaged and entertained on a human level through the stories the brands have to tell. Steven Van Belleghems latest work provides new insights into the role company culture plays in creating a consistent story and the untapped potential employees represent for connecting with consumers. The Conversation Company is a recommended read for those wishing to bring more consumer orientation into their company.

Jef Van De Cruys, Global leader digital connections, ABInBev

The world is changing and with it the role of communications. This book is a must read guide to the shift from communications to conversations, encompassing both the cultural and the practical, leaving the reader in no doubt about the importance of action. A tour de force of common sense in our upside down world.

Peter Boterman, Corporate Communications Director, Heinz Continental Europe

In the age where consumers are the ones shaping the brand and where organizations are still clinging to the illusion of control, Steven offers invaluable lessons of unlocking unused conversation potential of your company that will allow you to excite and delight your customers. This book is about shifting from the mentality of drive-by marketing to genuine caring about your customers, employees and partners . Using 4 Cs in his book Customer Experience, Conversation, Content and Collaboration Steven will give you actionable insights on how to take your brand to new heights.

Ekaterina Walter, Social Media strategist and well respected thought leader, Intel

Great case studies and lessons. There are a growing number of businesses around the world that talk about the importance of social networks, social media and social engagement. A much smaller number of businesses really get it. And its the few that will make the difference. In his book, The Conversation Company , Steven Van Belleghem has identified companies who are leading the way and sharing their journey with others. The cases that Steven has captured and the lessons that are shared will be valuable to businesses, both large and small, who lead with relationship and are intent on making the customer the focus of their purpose. Im delighted that PEMCO Insurance, the company where I am Chief Marketing Officer, is included among that group.

Rod Brooks, VP and CMO PEMCO, 2011 Board President WOMMA (Word-of-Mouth Marketing association)