The curve: From freeloaders into superfans: The future of business

The Curve is a new way of doing business and of seeing the world. For most of the last century, companies strived to sell more and more products at uniform prices. But the future of business is about variation: tailoring products for customers of all stripes, and letting your biggest fans spend as much as they like on things they value. The Curve shows us not to be afraid of giving some things away for free. The internet helps you forge direct relationships with a vast global audience, and take them on a journey from freeloaders into superfans. Value lies in how you make people feel, by building communities, bespoke products and experiences. Small numbers of high spenders are enough to fuel a profitable business. In games, free is becoming the norm, but some people now spend hundreds or thousands of dollars playing a single game. You can already see the Curve transforming areas like music, books and film, and it will rapidly spread to the physical world as 3D printing becomings reality. With stories drawn from artists, toymakers, sports, food, manufacturing and more, The Curve is nothing short of a business thinking revolution. 'Well researched and well argued. A must-read.' Management Today 'From the commercial vortex of the internet, Lovell has neatly forged The Curve, a comprehensive consumer-buyer model any business can lucratively exploit.' The Observer 'Arresting. Lovell argues his case colourfully and fluently.' Financial Times 'An astute and perceptive guide to the new rules for making money in a radically disrupted internet economy. This book deserves to be a hit.' David Rowan, editor, WIRED 'Business is changing. The days of one-size fits all are over. From pay-what-you-want pricing to niche customization, customers have come to expect (and demand) more. The Curve welcomes us to this new reality and shows us how to take advantage of the exciting opportunities it offers.' Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On 'Before reading this book, I was behind the curve. Now, I'm behind The Curve - as a supporter of Nicholas Lovell's provocative and important thesis that marketers have to think very differently today about the relationship between pricing and value.' Robert Cialdini, author of Influence