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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,545)
- People (5)
- News (657)
- Research (2,492)
- Events (6)
- Multimedia (5)
- Faculty Publications (1,393)
- January 2014 (Revised November 2021)
- Case
Filene's Basement: Inside a Fired Customer's Relationship
By: Jill Avery and Susan Fournier
How, in a business climate in which building relationships with customers has dominated both managerial thought and marketing budgets, could Filene's Basement have fired a loyal customer, one who was formally and informally recognized as a best customer? This case... View Details
Keywords: CRM; Retailing; Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States
Avery, Jill, and Susan Fournier. "Filene's Basement: Inside a Fired Customer's Relationship." Harvard Business School Case 314-076, January 2014. (Revised November 2021.)
- January–February 2018
- Article
Some Customers Would Rather Leave Without Saying Goodbye
By: Eva Ascarza, Oded Netzer and Bruce G.S. Hardie
We investigate the increasingly common business setting in which companies face the possibility of both observed and unobserved customer attrition (i.e., “overt” and “silent” churn) in the same pool of customers. This is the case for many online-based services where... View Details
Keywords: Churn; Retention; Attrition; Customer Base Analysis; Hidden Markov Models; Latent Variable Models; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Behavior
Ascarza, Eva, Oded Netzer, and Bruce G.S. Hardie. "Some Customers Would Rather Leave Without Saying Goodbye." Marketing Science 37, no. 1 (January–February 2018): 54–77.
- September 2015 (Revised March 2025)
- Technical Note
FIELD Global Capstone: Developing Customer Empathy
By: Jill Avery
The Design Thinking process begins with empathizing with potential customers. Empathizing, being aware of, interpreting, and understanding the thoughts of others, as well as being able to vicariously experience them oneself, requires the careful and deliberate study of... View Details
Keywords: Market Research; Design Thinking; Customer Behavior; Ethnography; Interviews; Surveys; A/B Testing; Experimentation; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers
Avery, Jill. "FIELD Global Capstone: Developing Customer Empathy." Harvard Business School Technical Note 316-082, September 2015. (Revised March 2025.)
- Research Summary
Consumer's Relationships with Technologies
Susan M. Fournier is involved with two lines of research investigating consumers' relationships with technological products. The first project (with Professor David Mick of the University of Wisconsin) concerns 'everyday technologies' such as... 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.
- 21 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Improving Customer Compatibility with Operational Transparency
- December 2020 (Revised January 2022)
- Supplement
Michael Ku and Global Clinical Supply at Pfizer Inc.: Bringing Hope to Patients (B)
By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards
In 2011, Michael Ku became Pfizer’s Vice President of Global Clinical Supply (GCS) after the company had undergone three large-scale mergers and acquisitions. As Ku and his new leadership team set out to build a proactive, end-to-end, digital and physical clinical... View Details
Keywords: Digital Technology; Customer-centricity; Innovation; Customer Focus; Talent; Talent Management; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Customer Focus and Relationships; Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Supply Chain; Mission and Purpose
Hill, Linda A., and Emily Tedards. "Michael Ku and Global Clinical Supply at Pfizer Inc.: Bringing Hope to Patients (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 421-037, December 2020. (Revised January 2022.)
- Research Summary
Understanding Customers
In conventional business case studies, protagonists almost never have the option of stepping back to seek a new understanding of the customer. But to be effective in practice, managers need both the self-assurance and ability to initiate and pursue, with rigor and... View Details
- Fast Answer
Supply chain relationships
Bloomberg, Capital IQ and FactSet report current and recent supply chain relationships (customers, suppliers, and strategic partners).... View Details
- March 2016 (Revised February 2020)
- Teaching Note
Compass Group: The Ascension Health Decision
By: Ryan W. Buell
In 2012, Compass Group (Compass) was on the verge of closing a $2 billion deal with Ascension Health (Ascension), one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. Under the deal, Compass would provide foodservice management and cleaning services for 86 of... View Details
- 06 Nov 2017
- News
Smart Leaders Focus on Execution First and Strategy Second
- 07 Sep 2010
- News
Customers always know best
- 01 Sep 2013
- News
A Focus on You
To sweeten the deal, we have something big to offer in exchange. Beginning this month, HBS is launching a brand-new Alumni website, featuring personalized content delivery (based on your profession and unique interests), View Details
Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
- Research Summary
Customer Management in Business-to-Business Markets
By: Das Narayandas
Das Narayandas is engaged in ongoing research on vendor firms' management of long-term customer relationships. The initial phase of his research involved identifying vendors that stood to benefit from long-term relationships with select sets of customers and... View Details
- March 2009
- Article
Customer Experience Creation: Determinants, Dynamics and Management Strategies
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Peter C. Verhoef, Katherine N. Lemon, A. Parasuraman, Anne Roggeveen and Michael Tsiros
Retailers, such as Starbucks and Victoria's Secret, aim to provide customers a great experience across channels. In this paper we provide an overview of the existing literature on customer experience and expand on it to examine the creation of a customer experience... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry
Schlesinger, Leonard A., Peter C. Verhoef, Katherine N. Lemon, A. Parasuraman, Anne Roggeveen, and Michael Tsiros. "Customer Experience Creation: Determinants, Dynamics and Management Strategies." Journal of Retailing 85, no. 1 (March 2009).
- October 2012
- Article
Target the Right Market
By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh
SparkPlace is a two-year-old business with a hot new product: software that manages and measures the effectiveness of permission-based marketing campaigns for social media. The company is in the process of deciding on which of two customer segments to focus its... View Details
Keywords: Marketing; Market Segmentation; Customer Defection; Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Relationship Management; CRM; Market Segmentation And Target Market Selection; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Technology Industry; United States
Avery, Jill, and Thomas Steenburgh. "Target the Right Market." Harvard Business Review 90, no. 10 (October 2012): 119–123.
- May 2003
- Background Note
Customer Management Strategy in Business Markets
By: Das Narayandas
Describes in detail customer management strategies in business markets, including selection decisions, design and management of customer relationship strategies, monitoring the health of customer relations, and linking the vendors' customer management effort to... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Making; Networks; Customization and Personalization; Manufacturing Industry
Narayandas, Das. "Customer Management Strategy in Business Markets." Harvard Business School Background Note 503-060, May 2003.
- July 2003 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service
By: Youngme Moon and John Quelch
Starbucks, the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, must respond to recent market research indicating that the company is not meeting customer expectations in terms of service. To increase customer satisfaction, the company is debating a plan that would... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Recruitment; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry
Moon, Youngme, and John Quelch. "Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service." Harvard Business School Case 504-016, July 2003. (Revised October 2018.)
- 23 May 2012
- News
Start-Up Customer Service 101
- September 2005 (Revised February 2007)
- Case
Angels and Devils: Best Buy's New Customer Approach (A)
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
Elberse, Anita, John T. Gourville, and Das Narayandas. "Angels and Devils: Best Buy's New Customer Approach (A)." Harvard Business School Case 506-007, September 2005. (Revised February 2007.)