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The Customer Centricity Playbook

Implement a Winning Strategy Driven by Customer Lifetime Value

Peter Fader and Sarah Toms

2019 BEST BUSINESS BOOK, Digital BooK Awards

2019 Axiom Business Book Award Winner

Featured in Forbes, NPR’s Marketplace, and a Google Talk, The Customer Centricity Playbook offers “actionable insights to drive immediate value,” according to Neil Hoyne, Head of Customer Analytics and Chief Analytics Evangelist, Google.

How did global gaming company Electronic Arts go from being named “Worst Company in America” to clearing a billion dollars in profit?

They discovered a simple truth—and acted on it: Not all customers are the same, regardless of how they appear on the surface. The most successful companies, from Amazon to Best Buy, understand their best customers are their most valuable asset, and they tailor their acquisition, development, and retention efforts to those customers.

In The Customer Centricity Playbook, Wharton School professor Peter Fader and Wharton Interactive’s executive director Sarah Toms help you see your customers as individuals rather than a monolith, so you can stop wasting resources by chasing down product sales to each and every consumer.

Fader and Toms offer a 360-degree analysis of all the elements that support customer centricity within an organization. In this book, you will learn how to:

  • Develop a customer-centric strategy for your organization
  • Understand the right way to think about customer lifetime value (CLV)
  • Fine tune investments in customer acquisition, retention, and development tactics based on customer heterogeneity
  • Foster a culture that sustains customer centricity, and also understand the link between CLV and market valuation
  • Understand customer relationship management (CRM) systems, as they are a vital underpinning for all these areas through the valuable insights they provide

Fader’s first book, Customer Centricity, quickly became a go-to for readers interested in focusing on the right customers for strategic advantage. In this new book, Fader and Toms offer a true playbook for companies of all sizes that want to create and implement a winning strategy to acquire, develop, and retain customers for the greatest value.

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Read the Book's Introduction

About the Authors

Praise for The Customer Centricity Playbook

“A fantastic 360⁰ analysis of how companies become truly customer-centric, The Customer Centricity Playbook is required reading for anyone who seeks to understand customer lifetime value and its ability to grow organizations large and small.”

—Neil Hoyne, Head of Customer Analytics and Chief Analytics Evangelist, Google

“A must-read, The Customer Centricity Playbook, by Peter Fader and Sarah Toms, sets the record straight and gives executives tools to drive growth.”

—Aimee Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer, Zillow; Former Senior Vice President, Digital Customer Experience, Starbucks

The Customer Centricity Playbook offers fundamental insights to point organizations of any size in the right direction.”

—Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company, Inc., and coauthor, The Ultimate Question 2.0

“Required reading for leadership teams, as well as marketing and sales executives, Peter Fader and Sarah Toms’ new book is a true playbook on how to become customer-centric.”

—Matthew Derella, Global Vice President, Revenue and Content Partnerships, Twitter

“Peter Fader and Sarah Toms offer transformative insights that light the path for business leaders.”

—Susan Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer, SunTrust Banks

“If you struggle with customer engagement or are ready to better acquaint yourself with your customers, Peter Fader and Sarah Toms’ new book The Customer Centricity Playbook is a must-read.”

—Jacqueline Parkes, Chief Marketing Officer and EVP, Digital Studios, MTV, VH1 & Logo

“Peter Fader and Sarah Toms have a talent for translating the complexities of customer centricity into accessible and actionable insights. With The Customer Centricity Playbook, they offer us a practical guide to establishing a customer-centric organization, essential reading for those who aspire to market leadership, regardless of industry.”

Joshua Kanter, Chief Marketing Officer, PetSmart

“I read The Customer Centricity Playbook by Peter Fader and Sarah Toms in a single sitting—so much value packed into about 100 pages. Everyone talks about ‘customer centricity,’ but this book is the first one I’ve read that takes the trouble to define the terms: customer centricity, expected lifetime customer value (ELCV), and what it means to be a ‘good customer.’ I recommend The Customer Centricity Playbook to anyone who has read my book The Membership Economy and who wants to understand, in a holistic and practical way, how to build deeper, more valuable relationships with the people they serve.”

Robbie Kellman Baxter, Consultant, Peninsula Strategies, and Author, The Membership Economy

“Mercifully light on technical business jargon [and] easily digestible. In addition, the authors don’t shy away from shattering conventional wisdom …. An authoritative introduction to customer-centric business strategies.”

—Kirkus Reviews

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In the Media

May 12, 2020
How to Maximize a Customer’s Long-Term Financial Value, with Peter Fader
from Sales Enablement Podcast with Andy Paul
January 15, 2020
How To Build A Customer-Centric Business Model
from Advertising Specialty Institute
January 11, 2020
Not All Customers Are The Same: Takeaways from “The Customer-Centricity Playbook”
from The Startup
January 6, 2020
Introducing the Wharton School Press
from Wharton Magazine
December 4, 2019
A Deep Dive Into Customer Centricity: Part One
from DMNews.com
December 4, 2019
Black Friday Needs to Go — Analytics Proves It
from Wharton@Work
November 25, 2019
Black Friday Is Bad For Business
from Quartz
November 7, 2019
Next Stop In Digital Transformation: Experience 2.0
from CMO by Adobe
October 21, 2019
A Case Against 'Who Is Your Customer'
from Forbes India
September 24, 2019
The Financial Side of CX: Which Customers Should You Invest In?
from The Customer Experience Podcast
August 15, 2019
Is it Time for Retailers to Tier Up Their Loyalty/Reward Programs?
from RetailWire
August 13, 2019
Become a Customer-Centric Business (Peter Fader and Sarah Toms)
from The Lead Generation Podcast
July 22, 2019
Wharton Professor & Co-founder of Theta Equity Partners, Peter Fader
from Rethink Retail
May 28, 2019
Why Customer Centricity Is Crucial to Your Organisation
from The Economist
May 3, 2019
Think Your Company Is Customer-Centric? Here’s Why You’re Probably Wrong
from Think with Google
April 2, 2019
Why the Corporate Valuations of Rent the Runway, Airbnb, and Lyft...
from Forbes
March 22, 2019
The Customer Centricity Manifesto: Leverage Customer Lifetime Value to Create a...
from 800-CEOReads Change This
March 14, 2019
Podcast: Practical Tactics to Implement a Winning Strategy Driven by Customer...
from YaniqueGrant.com
March 4, 2019
Peter Fader Joins Us to Discuss “Customer Centricity”
from The C-Suite Network
March 4, 2019
Set the Record Straight on Customer Centricity
from The CX Pod
February 28, 2019
CX Metrics Aren’t Customer-Centric, But Should Be. Learn How
from Customer Think
February 24, 2019
Book Review: This "Playbook" Is a Must For Business-Minded Students
from College Media Network
February 19, 2019
Implement a Winning Business Strategy Driven by Customer Values
from Inc.com
February 6, 2019
Next Stop in Digital Transformation: Experience 2.0
from CMO.com
January 30, 2019
How Retailers Grade You to Determine Customer Treatment
from NBC5, Dallas
January 28, 2019
Peter Fader and Sarah Toms: "The Customer Centricity Playbook" | Talks...
from Talks at Google
January 23, 2019
Customer-Centric Mobile Marketing: Interview with Wharton’s Peter Fader and Sarah Toms
from Marketing Sherpa
January 7, 2019
School for Startups Radio: Peter Fader Discussing Customer Lifetime Value
from School for Startups Radio
December 21, 2018
5 Mistakes in Adopting a Customer-Centric Strategy, and How to Avoid...
from Velocitize
December 20, 2018
Customer Centricity: Why Companies Should Play a Long Game Strategy
from The Wharton School
December 10, 2018
Retailers Have a Secret Shopper Score for You
from NBC4
December 10, 2018
NBC10 Responds: How Companies Rank You
from NBC10
December 7, 2018
Sarah Toms Discusses The Customer Centricity Playbook on WPHM Radio
from WPHM Radio
November 23, 2018
How Companies Are Sizing You Up Based on Your Behavior as...
from NPR Marketplace
November 15, 2018
Podcast: Black Friday with Pete Fader
from Ambition Data
November 14, 2018
An Unlikely Upsell Tactic: Free Phone Charging
from ChargeItSpot
November 12, 2018
The Secrets of Customer Centricity Success
from Wharton Magazine
November 9, 2018
Marketing Matters: Customer Centricity Special Part II
from Business Radio Powered by The Wharton School
November 9, 2018
Marketing Matters: Customer Centricity Special Part I
from Business Radio Powered by The Wharton School
November 7, 2018
Your Lifetime Value Score
from NPR Planet Money
November 7, 2018
How to Find Value in Every Customer
from Knowledge@Wharton
November 6, 2018
The Customer Centricity Playbook, Reading List
from Wharton@Work
November 2, 2018
The Secret Score That Determines How Long You Wait On Hold
from KCBS Radio
October 29, 2018
Why the Los Angeles Dodgers Are Still Winners
from LinkedIn
October 29, 2018
How Best Buy, Electronic Arts, and Other Companies Are Leading in...
from PR News Wire
October 22, 2018
Kirkus Review: The Customer Centricity Playbook
from Kirkus