Customer Acquisition - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Dec 2017
News

Puzzle Master

Photo via Black Enterprise Photo via Black Enterprise When kitchen goods and home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma announced its acquisition of Outward, Inc.—a leading 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform—the $112 million deal... View Details

02 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Excerpt: ‘A Social Strategy’

eschewed broadcasting messages to customers, instead focusing on connecting customers to each other, subsequently linking those customers' actions to increased profitability. To see this approach in action, consider eBay's Group Gifts... View Details

02 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Secrets to a Successful Social Media Strategy

that companies adopt two different approaches. The first approach, which he terms "digital strategy on social platforms," uses social media to broadcast commercial messages and seek customer feedback. The second approach, "social strategy... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

19 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Compete for Your Privacy

Competition drives the supply of services with a low level of disclosure, since some customers will choose to pay more for a service in exchange for keeping their personal information under wraps. Competition ensures that services that... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

Bruce E. Karatz

Karatz has led KB Home during a period of immense growth. When he took over the CEO position, the company was selling and delivering 4,000 prefabricated homes a year. By 2003, the company was producing and selling over 27,000 homes. Karatz grew the business through... View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

20 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

Lessons of Successful Entrepreneurs

acquisition activities, he said. "That's nuts." Steve Hafner, founder and CEO of Kayak.com, an online travel information site, said an alternative to growing your own customers is to secure... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

28 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

to build a relationship with the customer and communicate the brand in an experiential way. There’s still a purpose for physical shopping in today’s environment; it just has to feel different from what we’ve gotten used to as consumers.... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Retail

Profile

Adam Kanner

the marketplace, balancing supply and demand. You don’t want to acquire customers unless you have products to offer them. So building an effective marketplace is key. How are you making that happen? Through View Details

25 Feb 2020
News

Case Study: The Credit Bureau

but that’s a very expensive customer acquisition cost (CAC). Building managers are employed by a property manager who only cares about their 2 percent management fee. Landlords care about tenant experience... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Real Estate

H. Stanley Marcus

dramatically growing both the customer base and store locations. He secured the future expansion of the business through its acquisition by Carter, Hawley, Hale in 1969. View Details

Keywords: Retail

11 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Riding the Internet Fast Track

Finally, if the ease of customer retention is high, early investment in customer acquisition can pay dividends over a longtime horizon. For example, Web users find changing... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

01 Mar 2014
News

Innovation: Crowdfunding College Costs

model has evolved since its launch. "We used to charge a transaction fee, but moved away from that for strategic reasons," Cordero says. "Now it's simply about customer acquisition and building a community."... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; Gradsave; crowdfunding; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance

January 2008
Case

Parks Capital - Investment in US Retail, Inc.

Parks Capital acquired a Children's Apparel Manufacturer , American Child Clothing Manufacturers, Inc. (ACCM), in 2001. Two years later ACCM's largest retail customer, U.S. Retail, Inc., decided to evaluate strategic alternatives due to financial difficulties. Parks... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Value and Value Chain; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Citation

Find at Harvard

Though he was not the first individual to launch a personal finance software company, Cook was the most successful. His focus on easy of use and customer service helped to develop Quicken into one of the most successful software... View Details

Keywords: Computers & Electronics

April 2001
Teaching Note

MindSpring TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steven Silverman and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-899-178). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Web Services Industry

Citation

01 Mar 2006
News

Faculty Books

its decision-making, marketing, brand management, innovation, acquisition strategies, corporate culture, and human-resource management. Managing Product and Service Development by Stefan H. Thomke (Irwin/McGraw-Hill) Professor Thomke... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

28 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 28

fashion company competing in a variety of unconventional ways, many "experience economy" related. Moods fronts their brand with the "boy band" images of its three founders and designs eccentric features into their clothes as a way of gaining... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Financial Management of Smaller Firms - Course Catalog

challenges encountered when acquiring a small business. We then learn about different ways to fund a search through five other acquisitions by HBS graduates. We then focus on the market for smaller firms including cases about private... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

A wild ride from adventure travel to social media marketing

which provides a SaaS platform for marketers to manage their presence on social networks, is a division of Google, and is among the largest acquisitions ever made by the Internet giant. Wildfire now has over 25,000 paying View Details

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

Incumbents Fare in the Face of Increased Service Competition? Authors:Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei Abstract We explore the conditions under which service competition leads to customer defection from an incumbent and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Publications