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Long before I was bookworm (or an Aussie), I had a career in marketing. It feels like a long time ago, and a world away from the marketing world today. After reading Customer Experience Is The Brand, it seems all I studied for back in college and all that career experience, probably wouldn’t get me on the starting rung of the marketing ladder with today’s big brands!

When I was a young, keen, marketing professional I carried around a Nokia the size of a shoe with a green screen and no Facetime. I got my internet through a yellow wire, my provider was AOL and I could only use it at certain times at home, just incase someone needed to call out on the landline. Today, customers are smarter and have all the information they could possibly need in an instant, and right there on the smartphones nestled in hands and pockets. What Alex points out, is that brands no longer have anywhere to hide and they don’t have the larger budgets of the all consuming 80’s and 90’s. It costs far more to keep finding new customers, so big brands need to keep the ones they have and give an experience which keeps them interested, purchasing and sharing their experiences positively across social networks.

The book has some nifty facts and figures, along with examples of todays iconic and emerging brands. The customer experience can make or break a brand and the facts are all laid out here. I, myself, check Menulog before ordering from a new take-away joint and have written reviews both good and bad on forums like Trip Advisor. I look to see what other people think, rather than what the brand tells me to think.

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On the other hand, brands aren’t stupid and I have been approached by businesses to write fake reviews for Trip Advisor and to inflate product descriptions online which would dupe a consumer. I, of course have declined, but it pays to take a good look at any online reviews. If they are all 1’s and 2’s with a sudden 5 star review at the top to fox you, be aware!

This book is a short, quick, punchy read and a great stocking filler for anyone in retail or interested in the customer experience. It makes you think as a retailer, a marketer and also makes you question your choices and acknowledge the power you have as a consumer.

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3.5 stars from me. An enjoyable, insightful read.