The One to One Manager

In the fourth installment of their popular One to One series, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers examine a new aspect of the process they've defined and championed: the actual implementation of so-called customer-relationship management principles in pioneering organizations such as American Airlines, 1-800-FLOWERS, General Electric, and even the Carrollton, Texas, Fire Department. "This is not a fad. This is the reality of today's competitive landscape," they write in The One to One Manager. "The 'one-to-one future' is no longer the future. It's happening now." Using some two dozen examples, Peppers and Rogers show how a bank created a concierge-like program to connect with customers, how two clothing companies developed "mass customization" techniques to meet consumer demands cost-effectively, and how a software firm put on a "human face." The aggregate effectively demonstrates how some of today's more innovative enterprises are developing "individual relationships with individual customers," while offering practical advice for others who would like to do the same. --Howard Rothman