"I Love You More Than My Dog": Five Decisions That Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad

I bought this book almost entirely based on the title.As a business owner, I am very motivated to create a product that customers would “love more than their dog.” So I ordered the book right away.Having read the book, I have mixed feelings about it. I’m glad I read it -- there were some good points raised. But I also walked away feeling just slightly underwhelmed.The book is organized around 5 concepts, with the premise that well-loved companies follow all of these concepts. Each concept is backed by examples and case studies of various companies that practice these concepts, along with ‘thought provoking questions’ about how you run your business now and steps you could take to change.The concepts are:- Decide to believe. Example questions – are you transparent with your customers? Do you practice democratic decision making?- Decide with clarity of purpose - What defines your experience? Does your experience have an expiration date?- Decide to be real – Do you walk in your customer’s shoes? Is your communication vanilla?- Decide to be there – Do you know your customers? Is your experience memorable?- Decide to say sorry - What’s your reaction time in a customer crisis? Do you accept accountability?The ideas of using case studies is a great. Each case is broken down into Decision Intent, Motivation, and Impact. For impact, the author gives concrete metrics that changed or improved through the initiatives. The chapter on deciding to say sorry resonated a lot with me – especially as I’ve been on the consumer side of many frustrating consumer interactions (Skybell, for one.) A lot of times customers want to just be heard and understood more than anything else, and the book illustrates that very well.I think part of my problem with the book is that the author cites the same companies over and over – Trader Joes, Lands End, Zanes, Container Store, Lush. After a time, even if the specific examples were different, the whole thing just fell into a repetitive blur. Another part is that it FELT like the book was taking an overly simplistic approach. While the cases were specific, I walked away feeling like I’d just read a feel-good pep talk book more than anything actionable, DESPITE the fact the book was full of question prompts. I think it might have been what I was expecting from the book. I was looking for more underlying psychology and science behind WHY doing these things matter, not just the WHAT companies did.Bottom line, I think the book is worth a read, there are many great points made. That said, I had more head nod umm hmm moments than I had AH HA!! Light bulb moments.

Below are key excerpts summarizing the main concepts advanced by the book:1- "Your decisions reveal who you are and what you value...When you make a decision, it results in an action. And the accumulation of those decisions and actions become how people describe you and think of you. It becomes your "story.''"2- "The Five Decisions Made by Beloved Companies: DECISION 1: Beloved Companies Decide to Believe. DECISION 2: Beloved Companies Decide with Clarity of Purpose. DECISION 3: Beloved Companies Decide to Be Real. DECISION 4: Beloved Companies Decide to Be There. DECISION 5: Beloved Companies Decide to Say Sorry."3- "Companies have been able to suspend the cynicism. They have diminished the rules. And instead, they have decided to believe: in the good judgment of the people they hire. that trust is reciprocated between companies and their customers. in the honesty and integrity of their customers. that honoring the intelligence of employees grows their business."4- "Decide with clarity of purpose...Beloved companies take the time to be clear about what their unique promise is for their customers' lives. They use this clarity hen they make decisions so they align to this purpose, to this promise. Clarity of purpose guides choices and unites the organization. It elevates people's work from executing tasks to delivering experiences customers will want to repeat and tell others about."5- "Decide to be real...Beloved companies establish lasting bonds with customers--by deciding to blend their personalities with their business decisions. In the beloved companies: Leaders blend who they are as people with how they lead. Business decisions combine purpose and passion. Leaders give employees behaviors to model and permission to be 'real." Relationships are between people who share the same values."6- "Decide to be there...companies were able to reach uncommon decisions that connected them with customers because they: Imagined their customers' lives. Were clear on their purpose for delivering a solution to their lives. Built their experience from the customers' point of view. Executed with operational reliability."7- "Decide to say sorry...Aaron Lazare, author of On Apology, says, "The apology is a powerful and constructive form of conflict resolution, embedded, in modified form, in religion and the judicial system. It is a method of social hearing that as grown in importance as our way of living together on our planet undergoes radical change." Moral of the story: a good apology trumps the legal system. As long as the apology is sincere and the effort to make amends is genuine...Your apology must: Be genuine. Restore confidence in being associated with you. Honor those harmed. Explain and work to resolve the problem. Be delivered swiftly and with humility."8- "Beloved companies shed their fancy packaging and break down the barriers of " big company, little customer." The relationship is between people who share the same values and revel in each other's foibles, quirks, and spirit. And that's what draws them to each other. Beloved companies decide to create a safe place where the personality and creativity of of people come through. It makes them beloved to customers who gravitate to their particular brand of humanity."