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Show Results For
-
All HBS Web
(4,268)
- People (13)
- News (878)
- Research (2,456)
- Events (10)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (1,398)
- Profile
Sheila Marcelo
money for college. “I was the eighth employee, and I consider that period my general management tour of duty,” says Marcelo, who found enthusiastic mentors at the young company and was soon asked to join the View Details
- March 2021
- Article
The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance
This paper investigates the impact of customer compatibility – the degree of fit between the needs of customers and the capabilities of the operations serving them – on customer experiences and firm performance. We use a variance decomposition analysis to quantify the...
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Keywords:
Customer Compatibility;
Satisfaction;
Profitability;
Service Operations;
Customer Relationship Management;
Customer Satisfaction;
Performance
Buell, Ryan W., Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei. "The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance." Management Science 67, no. 3 (March 2021): 1468–1488.
- June 2014 (Revised March 2016)
- Case
Relating to Peapod
By: Susan Fournier and Jill Avery
Explores the relationships formed between consumers and the Peapod consumer-direct grocery delivery service, as revealed through an ethnographic study of Boston-area Peapod shoppers conducted between the Summer of 1997 and the Fall of 1999. Three representative case...
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Keywords:
Brands and Branding;
Customer Relationship Management;
Marketing Strategy;
Service Industry;
Boston
Fournier, Susan, and Jill Avery. "Relating to Peapod." Harvard Business School Case 314-142, June 2014. (Revised March 2016.)
- August 1995 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
IDS Financial Services (Condensed)
By: John A. Deighton
Highlights the decision that must be made on balancing customer acquisition and retention and de-emphasizing the structural issues involved in administering the independent contractor sales force.
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Keywords:
Customers;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Decisions;
Corporate Governance;
Salesforce Management;
Financial Services Industry
Deighton, John A. "IDS Financial Services (Condensed)." Harvard Business School Case 596-045, August 1995. (Revised October 1996.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- September 2022
- Background Note
On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics
By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
Startups are often evaluated by how well they perform on unit economics, defined as the ratio of a customer’s lifetime value (LTV) to acquisition costs (CAC). A common target for unit economics, advocated by many VCs and analysts, is 3:1 (i.e., LTV/CAC=3). While there...
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Keywords:
Unit Economics;
Business Startups;
Performance Evaluation;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Customer Relationship Management;
Analysis
Ofek, Elie, Barak Libai, and Eitan Muller. "On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics." Harvard Business School Background Note 523-050, September 2022.
- October 2000 (Revised November 2005)
- Case
Hilton HHonors Worldwide: Loyalty Wars
By: John A. Deighton and Stowe Shoemaker
Hilton Hotels regards the frequent guest program as the industry's most important marketing tool, directing marketing efforts at the heavy user. What is Hilton to do then, when a competitor ups the ante? This case illustrates the economics of frequency marketing in...
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Keywords:
Customer Relationship Management;
Decision Choices and Conditions;
Brands and Branding;
Competitive Strategy;
Accommodations Industry
Deighton, John A., and Stowe Shoemaker. "Hilton HHonors Worldwide: Loyalty Wars." Harvard Business School Case 501-010, October 2000. (Revised November 2005.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
- Case
Tweeter etc.
By: John T. Gourville and George Wu
In the early 1990s, Tweeter etc., a small regional retailer of higher-end audio and video equipment, faced increasing competitive pricing pressures from several large regional and national consumer electronics chains. In response, in 1993, they introduced "Automatic...
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Keywords:
Advertising;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Price;
Market Entry and Exit;
Supply Chain Management;
Competition;
Electronics Industry;
Retail Industry
Gourville, John T., and George Wu. "Tweeter etc." Harvard Business School Case 597-028, October 1996. (Revised April 1997.)
- March 1996 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
America Online: Using Information Technology to Better Serve the Customer
By: James I. Cash Jr. and Judy E. Stahl
Mike Connors, president of AOL Technologies, examines several efforts to correct operational problems inhibiting the company's growth. What will need to be done to support growth and counter competition from Prodigy, Compuserv, and Internet-related services?
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Keywords:
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques;
Service Operations;
Problems and Challenges;
Competitive Strategy;
Information Technology;
Technology Industry
Cash, James I., Jr., and Judy E. Stahl. "America Online: Using Information Technology to Better Serve the Customer." Harvard Business School Case 396-290, March 1996. (Revised January 1997.)
- 17 Jul 2006
- Lessons from the Classroom
Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence
not only changed how Yoffie designed the course, called Strategy and Technology, but it's also changing how managers in tech-intensive companies are dealing with this issue on the front lines. Yoffie begins the course by exploring the...
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- 16 May 2011
- Research & Ideas
What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee
customers who are more valuable over time. "One prescription from all of this is that managers should avoid service complacency—or the tendency to rely on preexisting service advantages—and invest more in proactively increasing...
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Keywords:
by Julia Hanna
- 19 Jul 2010
- Research & Ideas
How Mercadona Fixes Retail’s ’Last 10 Yards’ Problem
about how poor operational decisions create unnecessary complications that lead to quality problems and lower labor productivity and, in general, make life hard for retail employees." Ton is interested in demonstrating how operations can be designed and View Details
- 19 Mar 2015
- News
Walter Salmon Remembered
working for an investment management firm in Boston. He then served as the Chairman of the Board of the investment management company I started in Boston nine years later. Professor Salmon constantly amazed...
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- March 2024
- Supplement
Madrigal: Conducting a Customer-Base Audit
By: Eva Ascarza, Peter Fader, Bruce G.S. Hardie and Michael Ross
This case presents a scenario where Madrigal, a U.S. retailer with a rich 20-year history and a solid loyalty program, faces a turning point with the arrival of a new CEO. This leadership change reveals a critical gap in understanding the customer base, prompting an...
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- November 1990 (Revised June 1991)
- Case
American Airlines (A): Strategy in the 1990s
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Gary W. Loveman
American Airlines is pursuing a growth strategy through international and domestic route expansion. At the same time, the airline is working hard to cut costs while trying to provide the best customer service possible. Is this strategy achievable given the recent surge...
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Keywords:
Expansion;
Air Transportation;
Cost Management;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Air Transportation Industry;
United States
Lorsch, Jay W., and Gary W. Loveman. "American Airlines (A): Strategy in the 1990s." Harvard Business School Case 491-044, November 1990. (Revised June 1991.)
- 01 Apr 2002
- News
Q&A - Mark Fields
After HBS, he signed on with the Ford Motor Company, where he served in various capacities, including two years as managing director of Ford Argentina S.A. In 1998, he moved to Mazda (33.4 percent of which is owned by Ford) as senior...
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- December 2020 (Revised February 2021)
- Case
Kerry Group: Inspiring Food, Nourishing Life
By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin, Tonia Labruyere and Tonia Junker
The Irish company Kerry Group, one of the leading global players in the taste and nutrition industry, wants to ensure its future growth in developing and developed markets. Founded in 1972 as a dairy cooperative, it had grown into a provider of taste and nutrition...
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Keywords:
Agribusiness;
Environmental Sustainability;
Food;
Nutrition;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Global Range;
Market Entry and Exit;
Customer Relationship Management;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry
Reinhardt, Forest L., José B. Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin, and Tonia Labruyere. "Kerry Group: Inspiring Food, Nourishing Life." Harvard Business School Case 721-019, December 2020. (Revised February 2021.)
- December 2013 (Revised January 2015)
- Case
Barbara Krakow Gallery
By: Jose Alvarez and Nyssa Liebermann
The Barbara Krakow Gallery is a successful contemporary art gallery located in Boston. It utilizes a very rare "no haggle pricing" strategy and extended sales cycle when selling pieces to collectors. Though it remains profitable and very respected, the size and scope...
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Keywords:
Barbara Krakow Gallery;
Art Gallery;
Art Market;
Art World;
Artist;
Auction House;
Primary Art Market;
Secondary Art Market;
Exhibition;
Contemporary Art;
Art Collector;
Art Dealer;
Art Fair;
No Haggle Pricing;
Extended Sales Cycle;
Christie's;
Sotheby's;
Online Art Seller;
Barbara Krakow;
Andrew Witkin;
Catalogue Raisonne;
Arts;
Small Business;
Business Model;
Transition;
Customer Relationship Management;
Fine Arts Industry;
Boston
Alvarez, Jose, and Nyssa Liebermann. "Barbara Krakow Gallery." Harvard Business School Case 514-033, December 2013. (Revised January 2015.)
- March 13, 2023
- Article
Sales Teams Need to Stop Focusing on the Customer Funnel
Understanding where customers are, how they navigate streams in your market, and how to interact with them in a given stream is now central to crafting a good customer experience, and that has implications. Among other things, companies need to shift from thinking...
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Keywords:
Customer Experience;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Customer Relationship Management;
Consumer Behavior
Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Teams Need to Stop Focusing on the Customer Funnel." Harvard Business Review (website) (March 13, 2023).
- September 2020 (Revised July 2022)
- Exercise
Artea (C): Potential Discrimination through Algorithmic Targeting
By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli
This collection of exercises aims to teach students about 1)Targeting Policies; and 2)Algorithmic bias in marketing—implications, causes, and possible solutions. Part (A) focuses on A/B testing analysis and targeting. Parts (B),(C),(D) Introduce algorithmic bias. The...
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Keywords:
Targeting;
Algorithmic Bias;
Race;
Gender;
Marketing;
Diversity;
Customer Relationship Management;
Prejudice and Bias;
Retail Industry;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States
Ascarza, Eva, and Ayelet Israeli. "Artea (C): Potential Discrimination through Algorithmic Targeting." Harvard Business School Exercise 521-037, September 2020. (Revised July 2022.)
- April 1996 (Revised April 2004)
- Case
Virtual Vineyards
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Alvin J. Silk, Lisa Klein Pearo and Thomas A. Gerace
Virtual Vineyards markets wine from small California vineyards directly to consumers through its site on the World Wide Web. It also facilitates fulfillment of customer orders. The case focuses on the ways in which Virtual Vineyards provides value to end consumers...
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Keywords:
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Technological Innovation;
Management;
Service Operations;
Internet and the Web
Rayport, Jeffrey F., Alvin J. Silk, Lisa Klein Pearo, and Thomas A. Gerace. "Virtual Vineyards." Harvard Business School Case 396-264, April 1996. (Revised April 2004.)