The Thank You Economy isn't some abstract concept or wacky business strategy. It's the way we buy and sell, the way we're interacting as consumers, as employees, as entrepreneurs on all levels, right now. The way our marketplace functions has been evolving right before our eyes. Top-down, one-way exchanges are gone, replaced by relationships based on open, honest, and constant communication between customers and business. Today, individuals and brands that out-care and out-love their competition - those emphasising quality, value, responsiveness, and attention to detail, among other essentials - see the biggest returns. Gary Vaynerchuk contends that the people and companies harnessing the word-of-mouth power provided by multiplatform media - those that can shift their outlook and operations to be more customer-aware and fan-friendly - will pull away from the pack and profit in today's markets. In "The Thank You Economy", he dissects the companies on the leading edge, showing how they are succeeding - and sometimes failing. Laying out the ideas and insight that support this enormous change, Vaynerchuk explores these emerging connections - from consumer to consumer and business to business and everything in between. Passionate and persuasive, he reminds us that, surviving and thriving today it takes more than just hard work-it takes a heartfelt thanks to those who make it possible.

About the Author

Gary Vaynerchuk (VAYoNERoCHUK) is a 34-year-old self-trained wine and social media expert who has revolutionized the wine industry. His cult-like following is the result of his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, combined with his business acumen and foresight to use social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience. He hosts a daily webcast called The Thunder Show on tv.winelibrary.com that attracts over 90,000 viewers each day. Recently, he became the official wine consultant on all Virgin America flights and his tastings will be featured on the airline's Red in-flight entertainment system. Askmen.com named Gary to its list of the 49 Most Influential Men of 2009 (immediately before George Clooney and Ryan Seacrest, and after Ashton Kutcher and Conan OO Brien), and he was included in Business WeekOs list of the top 20 people every entrepreneur should follow.

Reviews

Author Vaynerchuk (Crush It) shares his fascinating analysis of how the Internet has influenced revolutionary changes in communications, the way we buy and sell, and how businesses and consumers interact. These changes are forcing businesses to rethink the value of the ongoing development of online technology. Vaynerchuk acknowledges typical company resistance to investing in a deeper customer connection using social media and discusses realistic corporate concerns about return on investment in the technology, control of an online message, and the possible consumer backlash to the use of these new tools. He also explains various factors that define and drive an investment in social media that will help produce success. Vaynerchuk's passionate, heartfelt reading keeps this lively material moving along, although his frequent alerts and asides about his "off-script" comments quickly become annoying. Nevertheless, this is an important work that solidly sets the stage for any business or organization interested in maximizing today's ubiquitous social media tools. [See Prepub Exploded, 7/14/10; the HarperBusiness hc, published in March, was a New York Times best seller; the HarperCollins pb will publish in October 2012.-Ed.]-Dale Farris, Groves, TX (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.