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- All HBS Web
(2,140)
- News (376)
- Research (1,413)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (625)
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- 16 Feb 2010
- Research & Ideas
The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service
own capabilities with those of its suppliers and partners to address some of those problems. The goal is to bring value to customers in ways that are beneficial for them while also creating additional View Details
- 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
- 25 Jul 2005
- Research & Ideas
An Organization Your Customers Understand
viewing everyone as a customer, you fundamentally change the nature of the value proposition that exists between you and the entities with whom you interact."2 This theme is echoed in another recent book, Everyone Is a Customer:... View Details
Keywords: by Robert Simons
- 07 Mar 2007
- Research & Ideas
How Do You Value a “Free” Customer?
Businesspeople understand that not all customers are created equal—the 80-20 rule suggests that over time a small percentage of a company's customer base can generate a high percentage of its sales and... View Details
- July 2005 (Revised January 2011)
- Case
Understanding Customer Profitability at Charles Schwab
By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez
Charles Schwab is transforming into a customer-centric organization. Central to this cultural and organizational change is the utilization of customer profitability at different decision-making levels. Examines several technical aspects of the ABC cost system, as well... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Activity Based Costing and Management; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Budgets and Budgeting
Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis. "Understanding Customer Profitability at Charles Schwab." Harvard Business School Case 106-002, July 2005. (Revised January 2011.)
- 20 Dec 2017
- Lessons from the Classroom
How to Design a Better Customer Experience
Click HereHarvard Business School Professor Stefan Thomke describes how his Executive Education students use LEGO blocks to design customer experiences. (Video by Executive Education) Why do some product or service experiences have enough... View Details
- 08 Aug 2005
- Research & Ideas
A Balanced Scorecard Approach To Measure Customer Profitability
The Balanced Scorecard introduced customer metrics into performance management systems. Scorecards feature all manner of wonderful objectives relating to the customer value... View Details
Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan
- June 2001
- Case
Bang Networks- The First Customer (A)
By: Jay O. Light and Mary N. Caravella
In November 2000, six-month-old start-up Bang Networks is preparing a proposal for its first paid subscription contract. The recent MBA founders of the new San Francisco--based company believe they have a unique new solution for effective delivery of real-time Web... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Negotiation Tactics; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Value Creation; Negotiation Preparation; Information Technology Industry; San Francisco
Light, Jay O., and Mary N. Caravella. "Bang Networks- The First Customer (A)." Harvard Business School Case 201-111, June 2001.
- November 2011 (Revised August 2012)
- Background Note
Customer Discovery and Validation for Entrepreneurs
By: Frank V. Cespedes, Thomas Eisenmann and Steven G. Blank
Provides practical guidelines for conducting market research to explore and validate demand for entrepreneurial offering. Explains how the research objectives of entrepreneurs might differ from those relevant to managers evaluating product or service offerings to... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., Thomas Eisenmann, and Steven G. Blank. "Customer Discovery and Validation for Entrepreneurs." Harvard Business School Background Note 812-097, November 2011. (Revised August 2012.)
- July 2021 (Revised October 2021)
- Case
Allianz Customer Centricity: Is Simplicity the Way Forward?
By: Eva Ascarza and Emilie Billaud
This case explores the tradeoffs between product personalization and simplicity as companies grow. The case presents an opportunity to understand whether and how each of these approaches enables and/or limits companies’ abilities to provide customer satisfaction while... View Details
Keywords: Simplicity; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customization and Personalization; Customer Satisfaction; Performance Efficiency; Strategy; Insurance Industry; Europe; Germany
Ascarza, Eva, and Emilie Billaud. "Allianz Customer Centricity: Is Simplicity the Way Forward?" Harvard Business School Case 522-008, July 2021. (Revised October 2021.)
- October 1990
- Case
Manufacturers Hanover Corp.: Customer Profitability Report
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Banking company noting declining profitability from its traditional lending activities has started to measure the total profitability of its lending relationships. A loan pricing model estimates the profit and return-on-equity from commercial loans. Additional work was... View Details
Keywords: Investment Return; Revenue; Commercial Banking; Banks and Banking; Customer Value and Value Chain; Banking Industry
Kaplan, Robert S. "Manufacturers Hanover Corp.: Customer Profitability Report." Harvard Business School Case 191-068, October 1990.
- June 2017 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
Signet Jewelers: Assessing Customer Financing Risk
By: Gerardo Pérez Cavazos, Suraj Srinivasan and Monica Baraldi
Marc Cohodes, a renowned short seller, has identified weaknesses in Signet's business strategy, which he argues is heavily reliant on providing loans to customers with subprime credit scores. He believes that the company accounts for its receivables portfolio using... View Details
Keywords: Short Selling; Bad Debt Expense; Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Finance; Financing and Loans; Valuation; Retail Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Pérez Cavazos, Gerardo, Suraj Srinivasan, and Monica Baraldi. "Signet Jewelers: Assessing Customer Financing Risk." Harvard Business School Case 117-038, June 2017. (Revised January 2019.)
- June 2017
- Article
Creating Reciprocal Value Through Operational Transparency
By: Ryan W. Buell, Tami Kim and Chia-Jung Tsay
We investigate whether organizations can create value by introducing visual transparency between consumers and producers. Although operational transparency has been shown to improve consumer perceptions of service value, existing theory posits that increased contact... View Details
Keywords: Operational Transparency; Service Management; Production Management; Organizational Performance; Behavioral Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Consumer Behavior; Labor; Organizational Design; Operations; Service Industry; United States; Kenya
Buell, Ryan W., Tami Kim, and Chia-Jung Tsay. "Creating Reciprocal Value Through Operational Transparency." Management Science 63, no. 6 (June 2017): 1673–1695.
- June 2013
- Case
Olympic Rent-A-Car U.S.: Customer Loyalty Battles
By: John Deighton and James T. Kindley
The marketing and operations managers for Olympic Rent-A-Car meet to decide how to respond to changes in the loyalty rewards program at the market-leading competitor. The competitor's program gives awards based on dollars spent instead of days rented and eliminates... View Details
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Competitive Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Auto Industry; Service Industry
Deighton, John, and James T. Kindley. "Olympic Rent-A-Car U.S.: Customer Loyalty Battles." Harvard Business School Brief Case 913-568, June 2013.
- 05 Aug 2010
- What Do You Think?
What Is Customer Opinion Good For?
Summing Up Customer inputs to the product development process count, but in different ways and at different times, according to many responding to this month's column. As Alexander Gat put it, competing and pioneering products "should... View Details
- 10 Sep 2014
- Research & Ideas
Become a Value Creator
value. After all, companies that make their purpose just about profit often do poorly because both their customers and their employees sense this quest for the almighty dollar, which makes them feel as if they are being squeezed rather... View Details
Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman
- Article
The Cross Section of Bank Value
By: Mark Egan, Stefan Lewellen and Adi Sunderam
We study the determinants of value creation in U.S. commercial banks. We develop novel measures of individual banks' productivities at collecting deposits and making loans. We relate these measures to bank market values and find that deposit productivity is responsible... View Details
Keywords: Productivity; Banks and Banking; Valuation; Performance Productivity; Value Creation; United States
Egan, Mark, Stefan Lewellen, and Adi Sunderam. "The Cross Section of Bank Value." Review of Financial Studies 35, no. 5 (May 2022): 2101–2143.
- 01 Mar 2004
- What Do You Think?
Are Customer Loyalty Initiatives Worth the Investment?
to let customers acquire points or miles or any loot unconnected to the product they are using . . . It's about customers and suppliers caring for each other's success." As Alan de Winter put it,... View Details
Keywords: by James Heskett
- September 2022
- Background Note
On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics
By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
Startups are often evaluated by how well they perform on unit economics, defined as the ratio of a customer’s lifetime value (LTV) to acquisition costs (CAC). A common target for unit economics, advocated by many VCs and analysts, is 3:1 (i.e., LTV/CAC=3). While there... View Details
Keywords: Unit Economics; Business Startups; Performance Evaluation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Relationship Management; Analysis
Ofek, Elie, Barak Libai, and Eitan Muller. "On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics." Harvard Business School Background Note 523-050, September 2022.
- September 2010 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
Liza Davis and the Bargain Hunting Customer
By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and Lisa Brem
Liza Davis, an upscale women's fashion retailer, is reeling from worldwide recession and lower demand. Should the company target the fast-growing bargain hunter segment or hold the line on price discounts to preserve their brand image? Customer profitability... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Price; Product Positioning; Customer Value and Value Chain; Business Cycles; Financial Crisis; Profit; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry
Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, and Lisa Brem. "Liza Davis and the Bargain Hunting Customer." Harvard Business School Case 111-040, September 2010. (Revised August 2013.)