Analytics Company Uses Book to Legitimize its Role
Sarah Allen-Short sees the value of writing a book.
In fact, the public relations director for the Ann
Arbor-based customer experience analytics company Foresee can attest to the impact
of a book firsthand.
Her company’s CEO, Larry Freed, was already recognized and respected throughout the
industry. But when he authored the book Managing Forward: How to Move from
Measuring the Past to Managing
“We saw a need to put our world-view out there,” said
Allen-Short. “It gives us credibility with a higher-level reader.”
Not to mention greater visibility in the marketplace. Freed
has appeared on or been profiled in CNN, the Wall Street Journal,
the Washington Post, Investor's Business Weekly, Internet
Retailer, Multichannel Merchant, DM News, Computerworld,
Federal Computer Week and Government Executive, among
numerous others.
Allen-Short is quick to point out that having written a book
is not the sole reason for Freed’s celebrity. But it has given him increased
credibility in the marketplace.
“It’s a tool of legitimacy,” she said.
Beyond that, it offered Freed and Foresee a way to stand out
from the crowd. “It’s one of the things we use to differentiate ourselves,”
said Allen-Short.
And those inside the company weren’t the only ones who
believed in the project. “Clients said there was a need for it,” she noted.
Allen-Short says a book has to stand on its own. “No one
will read a book that’s a commercial,” she said.
But in the case of a company like Foresee, which has
developed a means of measuring customer satisfaction as a return on investment,
a book explaining the process and its value has, well, value.
Of course, the book is not the only way in which Freed and
company tell the world about Foresee. “We have a lot of ways to distribute
information,” says Allen-Short, pointing to blogs, marketing brochures,
websites, etc.
But a book – now, that delivers something else entirely.
Trustworthiness. Expertise. Gravitas.
“It’s just another level of credibility. It’s not a
marketing piece, but it is a marketing too,” she said.
The company provides the book to those attending
conferences, to customers, company CEOs – people that the company and its staff
believe will benefit from the material.
The company’s first book was published independently. Its
second will be published by Wiley, the company that produces the “Dummy”
series, among others. But in a unique twist, the first chapters will be
published ahead of the book as a special preview copy through the Jenkins
Group.
