Custom Nation by Anthony Flynn & Emily Flynn Vencat - Book review

Custom Nation

Why Customization Is the Future of Business and How to Profit From It

By: Anthony Flynn, Emily Flynn Vencat

Published: November 15, 2012
Format: Paperback, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 1937856100
ISBN-13: 978-1937856106
Publisher: BenBella Books










"America is becoming a nation of customizers. And the new rule for successful businesses across the country is simple: Customize for your clients", write YouBar founder and CEO, Anthony Flynn; and internationally known freelance writer Emily Flynn Vencat, in their revolutionary and very practical advice filled book Custom Nation: Why Customization Is the Future of Business and How to Profit From It. The authors describe how companies are moving from the long established mass production model to one based on customizing products and services to fit the needs of individual customers and clients.

Anthony Flynn (photo left) and Emily Flynn Vencat recognize that era of mass production, and one product for every customer era is drawing to a close. The authors point out that the older business model, that long considered customization to be too small scale and suited only to niche markets, is now the outdated one. in its place, is a growing sense of customization to fit the individual needs and desires of the finely targeted and segmented customer based. in this new long tale oriented marketplace, the custom product is big business. The authors also make a very compelling case that customization is a model that is applicable to any industry, product, or service regardless of the size of company.

Emily Flynn Vencat (photo left) and Anthony Flynn understand the important and game changing fact that in the custom demand based economy, any entrepreneur can enter the customized product marketplace. Whether an existing company or a start up venture, the opportunity for customization creates a built in product advantage for brands. With customization comes automatic differentiation for products to stand out in the marketplace from their competition. The authors demonstrate how to establish a custom based company, or how to add a customization component to an existing company.

The custom business can be developed with ease and with a boost to the bottom line and the overall customer experience: The authors share the following principles for becoming part of the customization nation:

* Launching your new custom business
* Adding customization to your existing business
* The seven crucial lessons of customizing
* Customize your marketing
* Keep growing your custom business

For me, the power of the book is how Anthony Flynn and Emily Flynn Vencat combine a strong theoretical background of the new reality of customization, with the practical strategies and techniques for building a successful custom based company. The authors structure their assessment of the changes in consumer demand and tastes well, as they demonstrate how the twentieth century mass production model is losing viability in the twenty-first century. The authors provide proven techniques for building either a new company based entirely on customization, or for adding to and even transforming an existing organization to one based on custom products and services.

The case is bolstered through interviews and the real world experiences of industry innovators and leaders who have applied the principles of customization to their own firms. In many ways, the authors share the concept of customization as a leading edge form of disruptive innovation that can take over a market while the traditional mass market company is left behind and rendered irrelevant. With the younger generation of customers already seeking out customized products, the trend toward customization will only increase in the future. This trend also bodes well, according to the authors, for domestic manufacturing and production.

I highly recommend the the strategy packed and fresh thinking based book Custom Nation: Why Customization Is the Future of Business and How to Profit From It by Anthony Flynn and Emily Flynn Vencat, to any business leaders, marketers, and entrepreneurs seeking a clear and concise guide to building a profitable and innovative company based on the premise of customization. This book will change the way you think about custom products, and about mass production, forever.