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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,887)
- People (1)
- News (648)
- Research (2,815)
- Events (7)
- Multimedia (5)
- Faculty Publications (1,744)
- Research Summary
How to Manage Customers for Increased Profits and Customer Satisfaction
By: Frances X. Frei
For many service firms, the customer plays an important role in contributing to the cost and/or quality of the service. This is very different than many manufacturing contexts, for example, where the firm has virtually complete control over product cost and quality. ... View Details
- Research Summary
Managing the Operating Role of Customers
By: Frances X. Frei
Customers in operating roles introduce considerable variability into the production environment including differences in the demands they impose on the environment and the unpredictability of those demands. When customers are the source of production variability, the... View Details
- March 2022 (Revised March 2022)
- Module Note
Managing Customers in the Digital Era
By: Eva Ascarza
The last two decades have witnessed incredible technological advances that have transformed the ways customers connect with each other and enabled firms to track customers in multiple ways through various channels to personalize (and automize) their offerings at... View Details
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation
Ascarza, Eva. "Managing Customers in the Digital Era." Harvard Business School Module Note 522-066, March 2022. (Revised March 2022.)
- 2013
- Tool
Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Customer Lifetime Value
By: Thomas Steenburgh and Jill Avery
How much are your customers worth? Has your marketing budget been slashed? Need to figure out the best place to invest your time and effort to reach your growth target? HBR's Go to Market Tool helps calculate your customer's lifetime value, allowing you to prioritize... View Details
Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Tools; Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Defection; CRM; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships
Steenburgh, Thomas, and Jill Avery. Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Customer Lifetime Value. Tool. Harvard Business Review Press, 2013. Electronic.
- 2019
- Working Paper
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... View Details
Keywords: Customer Compatibility; Satisfaction; Profitability; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Retail Industry
Buell, Ryan W., Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei. "The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-091, February 2016. (Revised December 2019.)
- March–April 2019
- Article
Operational Transparency: Make Your Processes Visible to Customers and Your Customers Visible to Employees
By: Ryan W. Buell
Conventional wisdom holds that the more contact an operation has with its customers, the less efficiently it will run. But when customers are partitioned away from the operation, they are less likely to fully understand and appreciate the work going on behind the... View Details
Keywords: Operational Transparency; Customers; Services; Operations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Customer Satisfaction; Behavior; Service Industry
Buell, Ryan W. "Operational Transparency: Make Your Processes Visible to Customers and Your Customers Visible to Employees." R1902H. Harvard Business Review 97, no. 4 (March–April 2019): 102–113.
- 2014
- Other Teaching and Training Material
Marketing Reading: Creating Customer Value
By: Sunil Gupta
This Reading explores how firms can create value for their customers. The goal of any business is to delight customers by understanding its customers' needs and to provide products and services to meet those needs. As a result, it is critical to understand what... View Details
Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Consumer Marketing; Customer Experience; Network Effects; Service Profit Chain; Total Customer Value
Gupta, Sunil. "Marketing Reading: Creating Customer Value." Core Curriculum Readings Series. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing 8176, 2014.
- June 2020
- Background Note
Customer Management Dynamics and Cohort Analysis
By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
The digital revolution has allowed companies to amass considerable amounts of data on their customers. Using this information to generate actionable insights is fast becoming a critical skill that firms must master if they wish to effectively compete and win in today’s... View Details
Keywords: Cohort Analysis; Customers; Analytics and Data Science; Segmentation; Analysis; Customer Value and Value Chain
Ofek, Elie, Barak Libai, and Eitan Muller. "Customer Management Dynamics and Cohort Analysis." Harvard Business School Background Note 520-122, June 2020.
- Article
Measuring and Managing Customer Profitability
By: Robert S. Kaplan and V.G. Narayanan
Kaplan, Robert S., and V.G. Narayanan. "Measuring and Managing Customer Profitability." Cost Management 15, no. 5 (September–October 2001): 5–15.
- 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... View Details
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.
- November 2015 (Revised February 2016)
- Case
Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A)
By: W. Earl Sasser and Gamze Yucaoglu
At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost... View Details
Keywords: Service Excellence; Customer Experience; Customer Service; Emerging Market; Customer Focus; Net Promoter Score; Customer Relationship Management; Competition; Leading Change; Service Operations; Emerging Markets; Customer Satisfaction; Insurance Industry; Turkey
Sasser, W. Earl, and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A)." Harvard Business School Case 316-093, November 2015. (Revised February 2016.)
- TeachingInterests
Transforming Customer Experiences - Executive Education
By: Ryan W. Buell
In today's fast-growing service sector, a new set of frameworks are required to build a robust and competitive service business. Transforming Customer Experiences draws upon the latest research and insights to equip senior managers with a new toolkit for leading... View Details
- April 1998
- Teaching Note
Managing Customers for Profits (TN)
By: Das Narayandas
Teaching Note for (8249) and (8257). View Details
- 2010
- Simulation
Marketing Simulation: Managing Segments and Customers
By: Das Narayandas
In this single-player simulation, students assume the position of CEO of a medical motor manufacturer and are tasked with executing a successful business-to-business marketing strategy over a period of twelve fiscal quarters. Students determine all aspects of the... View Details
Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Price; Product Positioning; Customer Relationship Management; Profit; Revenue; Cost vs Benefits; Policy; Manufacturing Industry
Narayandas, Das. "Marketing Simulation: Managing Segments and Customers." Simulation and Teaching Note. Harvard Business Publishing, 2010. Electronic.
- November 2011
- Case
Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul?
By: Michael J Roberts and Paul E. Morrison
The general manager of a chauffeured limousine transport company is concerned about underperformance at the company's customer service call center. The eight-person call center handles almost all customer interaction including discussing company services with... View Details
Keywords: Capacity Utilization; Supply ＆ Demand; Operations Management; Customer Service; Management; Demand and Consumers; Service Operations; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Performance Capacity; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation Industry
Roberts, Michael J., and Paul E. Morrison. "Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul?" Harvard Business School Brief Case 114-374, November 2011.
- October 2014 (Revised November 2016)
- Technical Note
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) vs. Customer Lifetime Return on Investment (CLROI)
By: Elie Ofek
This note presents two related measures for assessing the financial value of a customer to the firm. The first is the well-known measure of Customer Lifetime Value, or CLV for short. The second, which has received much less attention, treats the acquisition of a... View Details
Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Return On Investment; Segmentation; Social Networks; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Investment Return; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Media
Ofek, Elie. "Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) vs. Customer Lifetime Return on Investment (CLROI)." Harvard Business School Technical Note 515-049, October 2014. (Revised November 2016.)
- November 2022 (Revised August 2025)
- Exercise
Managing Customer Retention at Teleko
By: Eva Ascarza
This exercise aims to teach students about 1) Targeting Policies; and 2) Algorithmic decision making, and 3) Retention management. View Details
Ascarza, Eva. "Managing Customer Retention at Teleko." Harvard Business School Exercise 523-005, November 2022. (Revised August 2025.)
- 2005
- Class Lecture
Managing Markets, Segments, and Customers
By: Das Narayandas
Narayandas, Das. "Managing Markets, Segments, and Customers." Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Class Lecture, 2005. Electronic. (Faculty Lecture: HBSP Product Number 9-826-6C.)
- October 2023 (Revised August 2025)
- Teaching Note
Managing Customer Retention at Teleko
By: Eva Ascarza and Ta-Wei Huang
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 523-005. View Details