Publications

May 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Teaching Note

ACTC Customer Service Department TN

Teaching Note for (9-393-056). View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships

November 2004
Article

Bringing Customers Into the Boardroom

By: Gail J. McGovern, David Court, John A. Quelch and Blair Crawford

Register to Read

“Thales Teixeira brings a brilliant and incisive intellect—blending fundamental insights with practical guidance—to the urgent question of digital transformation. In the book, he gives us a roadmap for winning the right customers, and for keeping them, amidst... View Details

March 31, 2023
Article

What Is the Optimal Pattern of a Customer Journey?

By: Julian De Freitas

Even though customer experience (CX) leaders are becoming increasingly focused on optimizing their firms’ customer journeys, they face a clear challenge: Which touchpoints along the journey should they invest in? That is, which moments when the customer interacts with... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Customers; Brands and Branding

Read Now

December 1999
Case

Lees Supermarkets: Customer Loyalty Programs

By: David E. Bell, Rajiv Lal and Ann Leamon

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

28 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

How Racial Bias Taints Customer Service: Evidence from 6,000 Hotels

Hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in the service industry often thrive or die depending on whether they provide exemplary customer service, but new research shows that the color of a customer’s skin can determine whether the... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

2016
Book

Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon and David S. Duncan

The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents a path-breaking book every company needs to transform innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services that customers want to buy and are willing to purchase at a premium price.... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Consumer Behavior

April 1997
Background Note

Using ABC to Manage Customer Mix and Relationships

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes applying activity-based costing to manage customer relationships. Links cost-to-serve to net margins earned with individual customers. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Activity Based Costing and Management

Educators

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Course Overview Note

Managing Customers for Growth: Course Overview for Students

By: Eva Ascarza

Managing Customers for Growth (MCG) is a 14-session elective course for second-year MBA students at Harvard Business School. It is designed for business professionals engaged in roles centered on customer-driven growth activities. The course explores the dynamics of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Making; Analytics and Data Science; Growth Management; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry; Travel Industry

09 Jan 2013
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Understanding Customers

Questions To Be Answered What's the biggest obstacle to excellence in service organizations? Should I do what my customers tell me to do? How can I understand my customers better? After the screw-up, what... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

July–August 2014
Article

Unlock the Mysteries of Your Customer Relationships

By: Jill Avery, Susan Fournier and John Wittenbraker

Consumers have always had relationships with brands, but sophisticated tools for analyzing customer data are finally allowing marketing organizations to personalize and manage those relationships. With this new power comes a new challenge: people now expect companies... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; CRM; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; United States