The best books for turning your customers into superfans

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m passionate about customer experience because it’s the number-one reason businesses succeed or fail. Regardless of the size (or budget!) of your company, you can set yourself apart—and create superfan customers!—by focusing on being exceptional in the areas that really matter. I grew up watching my dad prioritize customer service, first as a fast-food restaurant manager and then at a car dealership, and I know firsthand that how you treat your employees and your customers makes all the difference! 


I wrote...

Book cover of Creating Superfans: How To Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong Advocates

What is my book about?

In Creating Superfans, award-winning entrepreneur and keynote speaker Brittany Hodak shares a powerful framework for transforming your business from a commodity into a category of one. Brittany has helmed fan-engagement campaigns for brands including Walmart, Disney, Amazon, and dozens of other global brands. Creating Superfans combines sharp business insights with entertaining stories from work with stars like Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and Mötley Crüe. Memorable case studies from businesses of all sizes illustrate that customer experience, or CX, is the battlefield for winning—and keeping—customers. Brittany’s game-changing CX system, the SUPER Model, is simple to learn, deploy, and measure across every organization.

Whether you’re launching a new business or running a hundred-year-old brand, Creating Superfans gives the entire team a shared playbook for tapping into the unmatched power of superfandom.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of I'll Be Back

Brittany Hodak Why did I love this book?

If you’re looking for a book on customer service or customer experience, you have to read one of Shep Hyken’s books! Shep is the world’s top customer service expert, a hall-of-fame speaker, and one of my biggest mentors (you could say I’m his superfan!). His most recent book, I’ll Be Back is my personal favorite of his because of its focus on the organizational culture that’s needed to drive a customer-centric brand. 

By Shep Hyken,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked I'll Be Back as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How do you build a business that thrives during good times and bad? Is there a strategy that can set up  your company up for success, no matter what curveballs the world may throw your way? There is: Turn customers into repeat customers, and turn repeat customers into loyal customers.
 
Renowned customer service and experience expert Shep Hyken maintains that delivering an amazing customer service experience that keeps customers coming back for more is everyone’s job. Customer service is not a department. It’s not just for people on the front lines. It’s the responsibility of everyone in the organization, from…


Book cover of Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days

Brittany Hodak Why did I love this book?

Never Lose A Customer Again is my go-to recommendation for readers that are interested in learning the psychology behind customer loyalty. Joey Coleman details the eight emotional stages that customers go through in the 100 days following a purchase and how you can strategically anticipate their reactions to strengthen your relationships. Everyone that has read Never Lose A Customer Again has told me that it’s helped them improve their relationships with everyone in their lives, not just their prospects and customers. 

By Joey Coleman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Never Lose a Customer Again as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Award-winning speaker and business consultant Joey Coleman teaches audiences and companies all over the world how to turn a one-time purchaser into a lifelong customer.

Coleman's theory of building customer loyalty isn't about focusing on marketing or closing the sale: It's about the First 100 Days® after the sale and the interactions the customer experiences.

While new customers experience joy, euphoria, and excitement, these feelings quickly shift to fear, doubt, and uncertainty as buyer's remorse sets in. Across all industries, somewhere between 20%-70% of newly acquired customers will stop doing business with a company with the first 100 days of…


Book cover of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention

Brittany Hodak Why did I love this book?

John Ruhlin is the expert in strategic gifting, and I know this from firsthand experience! A few years ago, I posted on my Facebook page that I was looking for a new blender and needed some recommendations. Several friends chimed in with suggestions. Two days later, a large box arrived: inside was a fancy new Vitamix blender. I started a yearlong CXO engagement with Experience.com a couple of weeks earlier. The note on the gift-wrapped blender said, “Good luck blending your new role as a tech executive with mom life and keynote speaking! I’m rooting for you, as always. John.” In Gift-ology, you’ll learn how to become an exceptional gift-giver like John that will create “wow” experiences for your customers. 

By John Ruhlin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Giftology as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Does it feel like you work in a "red ocean filled with sharks?" Eat or be eaten. Fierce competition. Continual battling over scarce resources.

What if there was another path? What if you could create your own blue oasis where profits are higher, marketing is as natural as breathing, and competition is nearly nonexistent? This nirvana can be a reality when you practice the principles of Giftology. In this unusual un-marketing resource you’ll discover…

*Why Giftology isn’t an expense…it’s an investment that can pay off with huge dividends.
*How to practice Giftology on a tight budget… it’s easy and very…


Book cover of Human-Centered Communication: A Business Case Against Digital Pollution

Brittany Hodak Why did I love this book?

Human-Centered Communication has had a huge impact on my speaking career and business strategies. Among many lessons in this book, authors Ethan Beute and Stephen Pacinelli drive home the power of video to connect in a more personal and intentional way. Since becoming friends with Ethan, I’ve started incorporating videos at strategic moments along my client journey: I respond to leads with personalized videos, I embed video messages in proposals, and I record custom videos for companies to promote the event on their social platforms. The tactics outlined in Human-Centered Communication have helped me break through the digital noise and convert more leads, while improving my presentation skills on stage. 

By Ethan Beute, Stephen Pacinelli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Human-Centered Communication as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We're spending more time than ever in virtual environments. That will only increase, as will the amount of noise we encounter there. The seemingly endless series of unwelcome digital distractions range from frustrating to dangerous. As individuals and businesses, we not only spend time and energy managing this digital pollution, we often create it. At risk are relationships and revenue.

The only viable way forward is to be more thoughtful, intentional, and personal. Human-Centered Communication provides a philosophy and practice to help you connect in more meaningful and effective ways with prospects, customers, team members, and every stakeholder in your…


Book cover of Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking

Brittany Hodak Why did I love this book?

Jon Acuff is one of my favorite authors. His book Soundtracks is about the stories we tell ourselves. More precisely, it’s about how to challenge the repetitive negative self-talk so many of us are plagued by—talk he refers to as “soundtracks” playing over and over in our heads—with new soundtracks, aka positive talk. If you don’t believe that you deserve superfans, it’s going to be very hard to create them. Jon proposes this simple framework for over- coming negative thoughts: “Retire. Replace. Repeat.” As someone who became a keynote speaker kind of accidentally, I’ve experienced a lot of self-doubt. Jon’s book has truly helped me manage my overthinking and regain confidence. I’ve probably ordered close to 30 copies of Soundtracks off Amazon to give to people because I love it so much!

By Jon Acuff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Soundtracks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Overthinking isn't a personality trait. It's the sneakiest form of fear.

It steals time, creativity, and goals. It's the most expensive, least productive thing companies invest in without even knowing it. And it's an epidemic. When New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff changed his life by transforming his overthinking, he wondered if other people might benefit from what he discovered. He commissioned a research study to ask 10,000 people if they struggle with overthinking too, and 99.5 percent said, "Yes!"

The good news is that in Soundtracks, Acuff offers a proven plan to change overthinking from a super problem…


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