Publications

August 2002 (Revised November 2016)
Background Note

Customer Profitability and Lifetime Value

By: Elie Ofek

Introduces the central concepts involved in determining customer lifetime value, with detailed analysis and examples from the realm of direct marketing. Implications for marketing strategy and customer relationship management are briefly discussed. View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Relationship Management; Customization and Personalization; Product Marketing; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Consumer Products Industry

Research Summary

Overview

By: Rob Markey

Most companies' leaders declare their commitment to delivering value to customers. Many have adopted language such as "customer-centric" or "customer-obsessed." Companies that consistently earn top marks for customer loyalty in their industry deliver total shareholder... View Details

Keywords: Customer Base Analysis; Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Experience; Customer Loyalty; Service Profit Chain; Management Accounting; Project Evaluation And Resource Allocation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Valuation; Customer Focus and Relationships

May 2008
Exercise

Stakeholder Analysis Tool

By: Lynda M. Applegate

This exercise enables users to: identify stakeholders and analyze their interests and expectations; categorize interests and expectations based on importance; and develop an action plan. View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Planning; Interests; Segmentation

February 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Supplement

Bancaja: Developing Customer Intelligence (B)

In 1996, CEO Fernando Garcia Checa wanted to make customer analytics a part of Bancaja's new strategy. Bancaja, a savings bank based in Valencia, Spain, was expanding and wanted to exploit customer information to increase commercial effectiveness. At the same time, it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Credit Cards; Analytics and Data Science; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Strategy; Banking Industry; Spain

March 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

CarTrade

By: Rajiv Lal and Shreya Ramachandran

Vinay Sanghi, the founder and CEO of CarTrade, had been trying different business strategies to keep the company, which he founded in 2010 as an online marketplace for used and new cars, profitable and on track for growth. In a crowded and disorganized dealer... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketplace; Automobiles; Customer Base; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financing and Loans; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; India; Mumbai

December 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

ACTC Customer Service Department

Focuses on the young general manager of a new cable TV system and on its customer service department. Jeanne LaFrance, the general manager, has an uneasy feeling about the way in which the department is being managed. She sees symptoms of what she suspects are serious... View Details

Keywords: Management; Problems and Challenges; Planning; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Telecommunications Industry

February 2007 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Bancaja: Developing Customer Intelligence (A)

In 1996, CEO Fernando Garcia Checa wanted to make customer analytics a part of Bancaja's new strategy. Bancaja, a savings bank based in Valencia, Spain, was expanding and wanted to exploit customer information to increase commercial effectiveness. At the same time, it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Banking Industry; Spain

August 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Supplement

eSig: Growth Analysis

By: Mark N. Roberge and Thomas R. Eisenmann

eSig, an early-stage startup, offers an electronic signature application as a "freemium" product, i.e., users can upgrade from a free basic version to a premium version by paying a subscription fee. Using 9 months of data from 50,000 user activations, available as a... View Details

Keywords: Esignature; Computer Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Management; Marketing Channels; Applications and Software; Computer Industry; United States

Program

Transforming Customer Experiences

understanding of how to serve your customer base Develop a customer experience strategy Respond nimbly to market shifts and emerging competition Ensure consistent, high-quality... View Details

2013
Working Paper

Where do the Most Active Customers Originate and How Can Firms Keep Them Engaged?

By: Clarence Lee, E. Ofek and Thomas Steenburgh

In this paper, we study how firms offering Web services can acquire and develop an active customer base. We focus on two basic questions. First, how does the method of customer acquisition affect the way customers use the service to meet their own needs and to interact... View Details

Keywords: Customer Engagement; Adoption Routes; Hidden Markov Models; Search; Word-of-Mouth; Digital Media; Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Marketing Reference Programs; Web Services Industry

September 2009
Article

Finance and Politics: A Review Essay Based on Kenneth Dam's Analysis of Legal Traditions in The Law-Growth Nexus

By: Mark J. Roe and Jordan I. Siegel

Strong financial markets are widely thought to propel economic development, with many in finance seeing legal tradition as fundamental to protecting investors sufficiently for finance to flourish. Kenneth Dam finds that the legal tradition view inaccurately portrays... View Details

Keywords: Financial Development; Economic Development; Kenneth Dam; Finance; Government and Politics; Information; Law

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August 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

eSig: Growth Analysis

By: Mark Roberge and Tom Eisenmann

eSig, an early-stage startup, offers an electronic signature application as a "freemium" product, i.e., users can upgrade from a free basic version to a premium version by paying a subscription fee. Using 9 months of data from 50,000 user activations (available as a... View Details

Keywords: Esignature; Computer Software; Business or Company Management; Marketing Channels; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Computer Industry

September 2015
Technical Note

FIELD 2: Situation Analysis

By: Jill Avery

In this note, we present a method, the 5 C's Analysis, for collecting and analyzing information about the internal and external environments that firms face. This analysis will enable you to develop design ideas for a new product or service for your Global Partner that... View Details

Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Market Research; Marketing; Customers

September 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Angels and Devils: Best Buy's New Customer Approach (A)

By: Anita Elberse, John T. Gourville and Das Narayandas

In November 2004, The Wall Street Journal reported that consumer electronics retailer Best Buy's new customer approach was to shun the "devils" among its customers. The "customer centricity" initiative, which was led by Best Buy's CEO Brad Anderson, was based on an... View Details

Keywords: History; Customer Relationship Management; Opportunities; Marketing Strategy; Leadership Style; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Electronics Industry

October 1993 (Revised August 1996)
Background Note

Forecasting with Regression Analysis

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr.

Provides an example of regression in one of its most important roles. Relating probabilistic forecasts based on past data to decision analysis. View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Analytics and Data Science; Forecasting and Prediction; Mathematical Methods