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Beyond the Familiar

Long-Term Growth through Customer Focus and Innovation

Sean Meehan author Patrick Barwise author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:John Wiley & Sons Inc

Published:11th Mar '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Beyond the Familiar cover

Strong customer-focused companies have a clear, relevant promise which they obsessively deliver day-in, day-out. At the same time, they relentlessly drive the market by evolving the offer in the face of market developments and opportunities. Because they meet customer needs better than the competition, again and again, they are able to generate sustainable, profitable, market-leading organic growth. The problem the book addresses is how to achieve this. The authors identify five key steps using their framework for success:

  • Offer a clear, relevant customer promise
  • Build customer trust by reliably delivering that promise
  • Continuously improve the promise, while still reliably delivering it
  • Drive the market by innovating beyond the familiar
  • Support all this with an open organization that promotes frank discussion based on clear facts and market feedback.

Above all the book runs counter to the fashionable claim that the starting-point for business success should be to find a 'blue-sky', 'out-of-the-box' breakthrough innovation. Barwise and Meehan use many compelling cases to illustrate how managers can find ways within their existing network and organization to achieve long term growth.

"Beyond the Familiar lives up to its promise, rewards readers' trust and reinforces Simply Better's straightforward lessons." (FT, March 2011)

"... very much a practical guide ... sets out methods of achieving the Holy Grail of consistent growth." (Business Life, May 2011)

"Beyond the Familiar is a prescription for cautious, step-by-step change, not blue sky thinking." (Marketingweek.co.uk, May 2011)

"This is a very short, very good book on how to grow a business, which every CEO or aspiring CEO should read." (Robin Fairlie of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing)

ISBN: 9780470976319

Dimensions: 236mm x 160mm x 21mm

Weight: 422g

184 pages