From Amazon
Building relationships with customers has been a buzz phrase in many business circles for years. Now John Hagel and Arthur Armstrong declare that's not enough. They make a strong case that business success in the very near future will depend on using the Internet to build not just relationships, but communities. The payoff, they maintain, will be phenomenal customer loyalty and high profits. But, they warn, this race will definitely go to the swift. Here's a cyberspace book that could make your business future. Not everyone agrees with Hagel and Armstrong, but with stakes so high they deserves a serious reading.
From Library Journal
According to Hagel and Armstrong, both with the multimedia firm McKindey & Company, virtual communities are the marketplaces of the future. Representing more than a physical place on the Internet, they are an evolution in business dynamics. By providing a common forum on the Internet for consumers to share information, the authors argue, vendors are seeking access to these valuable market enclaves, hence creating a power shift from the vendor to the customer. The authors clearly demonstrate their professional experience and business acumen regarding this new market forum. Their book is a manifesto for a generation of entrepreneurs hoping to learn about the future of the online economy. Recommended for those seriously interested in the direction of business markets.?Dennis Krieb, St. Charles Cty. Community Coll. Lib., St. Peters, Mo.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Hagel is a fountain of concepts that are being put into practice all over the Web. In 1997, his book Net Gain (co-authored by Arthur G. Armstrong) suggested how noncommercial Web communities could use content, chat, and bulletin boards to promote e-commerce." -- Business Week, September 27, 1999
A provocative, timely, and insightful look into the complex, interlocking dynamics of virtual community construction and value creation. Net Gain is a must read for all companies new and old looking for ways to leverage the Internet as a new medium for linking and listening to customers, for building customer loyalty, and for leveraging value creation. Mind expanding, yet pragmatic and grounded. -- John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation and Director of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
Compelling, thought-provoking, and subversive. In the language of business, Net Gain argues that the balance of power is about to shift from producers to consumers, from vendors to customers. It analyzes business models of the future, describing structure, not just texture, and shows how on-line business will change the dynamics of the marketplace worldwide. -- Esther Dyson, President, EDventure Holdings
A provocative, timely, and insightful look into the complex, interlocking dynamics of virtual community construction and value creation. Net Gain is a must read for all companies new and old looking for ways to leverage the Internet as a new medium for linking and listening to customers, for building customer loyalty, and for leveraging value creation. Mind expanding, yet pragmatic and grounded. -- John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation and Director of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
Compelling, thought-provoking, and subversive. In the language of business, Net Gain argues that the balance of power is about to shift from producers to consumers, from vendors to customers. It analyzes business models of the future, describing structure, not just texture, and shows how on-line business will change the dynamics of the marketplace worldwide. -- Esther Dyson, President, EDventure Holdings
Book Description
Net Gain identifies where the next level of value lies on the Internet and lays out the first economic model to quantify the revenue potential and the investment required to build a successful virtual community. From the offerings of commercial online services such as the Motley Fool Investment group to Internet communities of book lovers, Net Gain offers a multitude of real-world scenarios and lessons for building value and creating competitive edge. The authors clearly show that in order to compete in the online economy, you must establish an entirely new approach to product development, marketing, customer service, and distribution, and rethink your company's relationships to customers, suppliers, and competitors. And they show you how to do it.
About the Author
John Hagel III is a principal at the Silicon Valley office of McKinsey & Company, Inc., and a leader of the firm's Interactive Multimedia Practice. His work is primarily with clients in the electronics, telecommunications, and media industries, with a focus on strategic management and performance improvement. Prior to joining McKinsey, he served as senior vice president for strategic planning at Atari; as president of Sequoia Group, a systems house selling turnkey computer systems to physicians; and as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Hagel is the author of a number of legal and business books and articles. His most recent piece, written with Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey F. Rayport, was "The Coming Battle for Customer Information," which appeared in the January/February 1997 issue of the Harvard Business Review.
