"Answering the ultimate question" - our upcoming Net Promoter book - is now posted on Amazon.com. It's going to be some time before it ships, but hey, it's already discounted. So much for list prices, but this blog is not about a shameless plug for the book. OK, it's not only about a shameless plug for the book.
The discussion around marketing the book highlighted the dramatic impact Amazon has had on the publishing industry. A full 80% of the sales of that book will likely be through the one website. That's an amazing concentration of business for any industry, but the short period over which this has occurred makes it even more impressive.
Amazon is an NPS leader. Our database of industry NPS performance puts them right up at the top of any list of e-commerce players. Furthermore, they have embarked over a sustained period in putting customer experience at the top of the agenda.
We are always interested in companies who defy "temporal economics" and make long term customer investments at the expense of short term profits. It wasn't that long ago that Amazon was being panned by the financial community for lack of profitability, but this didn't stop them continuing their focus on an outstanding customer experience. Fast forward several years and many industry commentators see Amazon as the potential big winner in electronic commerce, witness the recent article in the economist.
Now Ebay is starting to drive Net Promoter the battle may well and truly be joined. Electronic commerce may be the industry where NPS differentials translate into financial advantage fastest.
Oh, and did I mention our book?
Paul Pakalnietis
says:
The book business is a marketplace that was largely driven by WOM before the advent of e-commerce. In the past, book clubs were the key to selling books because that's where avid readers connected to discuss and form opinions about new books. Participants in these clubs are the "mavens" and "connectors" who generate buzz about books. Amazon provides these same people a web platform to share their opinions, making their referrals even more impactful. Amazon has earned the loyalty of avid readers by understanding what is imporant to them. Not really rocket science, just plain old common sense if you ask me. And yes, I'm in the midst of trying to sell my own book, which I won't shamelessly plug until I have a publishing deal signd.