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Frederick F. Reichheld

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The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth Hardcover – March 2, 2006

by Fred Reichheld (Author)

4.3 130 ratings

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CEOs regularly announce ambitious growth targets, then fail to achieve them. The reason? Their growing addiction to bad profits. These corporate steroids boost short-term earnings but alienate customers. They undermine growth by creating legions of detractors—customers who complain loudly about the company and switch to competitors at the earliest opportunity.

Based on extensive research, The Ultimate Question shows how companies can rigorously measure Net Promoter statistics, help managers improve them, and create communities of passionate advocates that stimulate innovation. Vivid stories from leading-edge organizations illustrate the ideas in practice.

Practical and compelling, this is the one book—and the one tool—no growth-minded leader can afford to miss.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Almost everyone appreciates the importance of customer satisfaction in business, but this book takes that idea to two extremes. First, it claims that customer satisfaction is more important than any business criterion except profits. Second, it argues that customer satisfaction is best measured by one simple question, "Would you recommend this business to a friend?" Pressure for financial performance tempts executives to seek "bad profits," that is, profits obtained at the expense of frustrating or disappointing customers. Such profits inflate short-term financial results, Reichheld writes, but kill longer-term growth. Only relentless focus on customer satisfaction can generate "good profits." One unambiguous question, with answers delivered promptly, can force organizational change, he claims. Reichheld makes a strong rhetorical case for his ideas, but is weaker on supporting evidence. The negative examples he gives are either well-known failures or generic entities like "monopolies," "cell phone service providers" and "cable companies." When presenting statistics on poor performers, the names are omitted "for obvious reasons." On the other hand, the positive examples are named, but described in unrealistically perfect terms. Believable comparisons of companies with both virtues and flaws would have been more instructive. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Among management books, this one's a keeper. -- The Washington Post

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard Business School Press; 1st edition (March 2, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591397839
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591397830
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #914,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #647 in Customer Relations (Books)
- #7,797 in Business Management (Books)
- #7,884 in Personal Finance (Books)

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4.3 130 ratings

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Rob Markey
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Rob Markey is a Partner at Bain & Company and leads the firm's Customer Strategy and Marketing practice globally. He has worked with Fred Reichheld on customer and employee loyalty for over 20 years, supporting Bain clients all over the world on their journeys toward customer and employee advocacy.
Rob has published articles on customer and employee loyalty in the Harvard Business Review and many other business publications. He is an active practitioner, and speaks regularly on the topic. He also contributes to a blog, which can be found at http://www.netpromotersystem.com.
Raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, Rob graduated with a degree in economics from Brown University. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He joined Bain & Company in 1990. He was one of the founders and served on the Board of City Year New York, and remains active in the youth service movement.
More information about Rob is available at http://www.netpromotersystem.com
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Frederick F. Reichheld
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Fred Reichheld is a Bain Fellow and founder of Bain & Company’s Loyalty Practice, which helps companies achieve results through customer and employee loyalty. He is the creator of the Net Promoter® system of management.
His work in the area of customer and employee retention has quantified the link between loyalty and profits. Fred’s books, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value (HBSP 1996); Loyalty Rules! How Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationships (HBSP 2001), and The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth (HBSP, 2006) have each become best sellers.
In his latest book, The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer Driven World (HBR Press-Sept. 2011), Fred reveals how NPS practitioners have utilized the Net Promoter System (NPS) to generate extraordinary results. Visit www.netpromotersystem.com to find more key insights and videos on driving this growth.
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4.3 out of 5

130 global ratings

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David Laws

Simplistic or Brilliant? Depends if you `buy in' to the concept that loyal customers are better for business.

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2007

Verified Purchase

If it was author Fred Reichheld's intention to generate discussion and debate around the benefits of customer loyalty then this book has proven to be the ideal way to achieve that.

Look at the variety and range of perspectives offered by the reviews and articles this book has generated and the emotions attached.

So, if you want to understand the hype you have just got to read the book and make your own judgment. But it really depends on what perspective you bring to the opening pages.

I `buy in' to the argument that loyalty is great for business, so I found the book easy to read and understand and incredibly helpful. The argument is well crafted and supported, and with enough `detail' and case studies to support and reinforce my point of view. The underlying concept being that every organisation has both `detractors' and `promoters' and the objective of every company should be to grow the number of promoters whilst eliminating detractors. Those organisations with many more promoters than detractors tend to be more successful than others.

But many simply don't buy into the underlying premise that building customer loyalty is achievable, even desirable, in today's business environment. I'm not sure that this book will change their perspectives. Much of the data could be described by some, as `soft', `open to misinterpretation' even questionable but it is certainly an intriguing proposition.

Then of course, there is the whole concept that by merely asking one question - The Ultimate Question - will give you a useful insight into the health of your company. Is it really that simple?

Make your own judgment. For me though, The Net Promoter Score is a useful measure that has application in most industries and could be a terrific lead indicator. Would I `bet the farm' on this as the only measure? I don't think so!

Do I want to know the ratio of my company's Promoters to Detractors? You bet.

7 people found this helpful

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Darron C

The Ultimate Question: The Ultimate Book

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2006

Verified Purchase

Mr. Reichheld NAILED it. That's right, he NAILED it. The points made in this work bring to the surface the hard facts:

1. The Customer rules
2. Completely satisfied Customers are the most effective means of driving true growth and good profit
3. If you don't agree, see Rule #1

The author has meaningful data, charts, and real life examples to highlight what is really happening to companies that go way beyond Customer loyalty. These companies set aside "profits" and focus on the Customer like a laser. Their reward; they are killing the competition, growing exponentially, and enjoying the Customer as their best marketer and loyal partner.

Every working individual should read this book to understand how vital it is to have the Customer 100% satisfied with their buying experience. Reichheld explains the importance of accountibility in this experience; from the Customer Touchpoints (frontliners he calls them) all the way to the CEO. He demonstrates what has happened to the "old-liners" who spend the shareholders' money on advertising campaigns, acquisitions, and "fuzzy math" accounting to meet the "bad-profit" numbers instead of reinvesting it in completely and utterly pleasing the customer.

By hiring and retaining a new kind of talent, they absolutely leave the Customer not only with dedication to the brand, they bring thier freinds and family with them. This book is well written, enlightening, entertaining, and hard hitting.

Buy it. And no, no one paid me to write this (but, I'm not too proud if he wants to slip me a twenty)

6 people found this helpful

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Holly

Great for the Do It Yourself Marketing Person

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

A fresh and easy insight into customer satisfaction. If you have little time or money but need to put a plan in place, this is the place to start. It's an easy way to compare dept to department. I've used this for year when I had no money, no time and no experts to help me. NPS is the gold standard but I'd encourage you to add Word of Mouth Index for an even clearer picture.

One person found this helpful

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Travis Dommert

Get focused on what matters most TO YOUR CUSTOMER

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2010

Verified Purchase

Great follow-up and complement to The Loyalty Effect. Find the secrets to getting meaningful feedback from customers and other stakeholders whose opinions and feedback you need to hear.

But first, the book also recaps the whole premise of building a loyalty-based culture...the virtues and the challenges, which requires a fundamental understanding and acceptance of the idea of good profits vs. bad profits.

If you feel that all profits are created equal, don't bother with the book, just go try to wrangle as much from customers as you can. Maximize price and minimize cost. But if you believe (or could be convinced) that true profit maximization means maximizing the lifetime profitability of each relationship (whether with customers, employees, investors, etc.), then you will likely buy into the good profit / bad profit concept.

Beyond that, the book provides an in-depth review of the flaws inherent to most surveys and feedback channels. The single biggest flaw...adverse selection. If you are not getting feedback from a representative sample of your target population, don't be surprised when it is very skewed (up or down).

What really matters when it comes to loyalty is whether or not someone has or will recommend you to others. If yes, great! Why? If not, uh-oh...why not? If you can get focused on the answers to those questions, you'll discover a LOT about your business and how to make it better.

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Phylicia Lee

Net Promoter Score & Customer Loyalty

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is such a great addition to any toolbox! Fred Reichheld does a phenomenal job of setting the foundation, and then taking you along a journey to understanding customer loyalty. It is so relatable as a consumer, and also very easy to implement within your organization almost immediately. Focus on getting buy-in within your firm and then deploy this methodology. As humans, we're certainly fickle, but this will adapt accordingly. The Ultimate Question is a must read!

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Simou Yassin

The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth

Reviewed in France on March 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

Je trouve ce livre très messianique sur le sujet qu'il traite le NPS, au passage on tape sur quelque concurrent. C'est vrai au fait pour pratiquer le NPS il y a aussi les formations et le consulting qu'il faut payer, pourtant Reichheld nous conjure de combattre les Bad Profits. D'autre part l'auteur nous explique que les clients ont horreur des enquêtes à cause du nombre de questions alors qu'avec le NPS on n'en pose que deux. Mais à force de les poser pour aller dans le détail, segmentation oblige, et on y ajoutant quelques questions à chaque fois je me demande si on ne dépasse pas le nombre de questions d'un sondage!
Le bouquin ne manque pas pourtant d'intéret mais il ne faut pas y compter pour faire du NPS, il faut payer pour cela.

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Rene Nowaczyk

Perfekter Leitfaden zum Kundenverständnis

Reviewed in Germany on January 15, 2010

Verified Purchase

Das Buch ist äußerst kurzweilig geschrieben. Besonders imponierend ist wie Reicheld aufzeigt, wie wenig das Management eigentlich mit Kundenmeinungen und klassischen Umfragen anfangen kann und wie diese (teilweise) unbewusst zum Schaden des Unternehmens manipuliert werden. Praxisbeispiele aus verschiedenen Branchen unterstreichen die Thesen von Fred Reicheld in beeindruckender Weise.

Das Buch ist ein absolutes Muss für Vorstände, Geschäftsführer oder sonstige Entscheider, die den Kunden nicht nur als Kennzahl, sondern wirklich als Motor des eigenen Unternehmens sehen wollen.

One person found this helpful

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John G

Perfect Sense

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2006

Verified Purchase

This book is essential reading, well written, engaging and rips through the over complicated world of customer surveys. The proof Fred Reichheld offers about the link between client satisfaction and growth is attractive and powerful. I will be implementing many of the ideas immediately in my business and believe that many organisations will be forced to look again at their approch to customer surveys. There will be a lot of overpriced marketing survey companies quaking in their boots when this information reaches a wider audience. I suggest you and they read it now.

4 people found this helpful

Artem Rosliakov

Idea is great, but not enough for a book.

Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

The main idea is described in several pages and than it is repeated hundred times through different business cases. This topic would be better in a form of an article in HBR or similar.

One person found this helpful

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