Publications

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August 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Jones Lang LaSalle: Reorganizing around the Customer (2005)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Lucia Menzer Marshall

Peter Roberts, CEO of Jones, Lang, LaSalle (JLL) Americas division, has been charged with expanding the company's presence in its core geographic markets while simultaneously growing its corporate account business. Roberts and his task force have narrowed their options... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Real Estate Industry

21 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Don’t Get Buried in Customer Data—Use It

on," says Harvard Business School marketing professor Gerald Zaltman. A more strategic approach to data mining can provide the foundation for that decision-making architecture. Below, advice on how to use information about the... View Details

Keywords: by Jean Ayers

2012
Book

Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business

By: Frances Frei and Anne Morriss

Most companies treat service as a low-priority business operation, keeping it out of the spotlight until a customer complains. Then service gets to make a brief appearance—for as long as it takes to calm the customer down and fix whatever foul-up jeopardized the... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Business Ventures

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September 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

The Progressive Corporation, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, The Progressive Corporation (Progressive), the USA’s third-largest auto insurance writer, reported earned premiums were up 20% in 2018 compared to the previous year, and net income was up 64%. Direct sales of personal auto policies rose 21%, while agent... View Details

07 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

What Customers Need to Hear from You During the COVID Crisis

brands and/or brands that have managed to nurture strong consumer-brand relationships prior to the crisis. The cocooning behavior promoted by shelter-in-place orders may encourage a return to brands that were trusted childhood favorites... View Details

Keywords: by Jill Avery and Richard Edelman

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

Democratic-leaning areas. And new customers of Black-owned businesses were more likely to be white, based on an analysis of reviewers’ profile photos, relative to prior customers. Luca and his coauthors also worked with Wayfair to analyze... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

outings, and becoming more strategic about their purchases. There's a renewed focus on investing in durable goods from reputable brands, seen as a long-term saving strategy despite the upfront cost. Slower rise, no return to pre-pandemic... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Consumer Products

25 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

The Powerful Strategic Tool Companies Should Not Try to Control

World Nutella Day a cease-and-desist letter in 2013. The company backed down and eventually embraced this day of honor of its beloved product. Companies devote significant resources to holding focus groups and collecting customer... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

30 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

How Your Employees and Customers Drive a New Value Profit Chain

same. Allocating resources to retain the most profitable and to induce customer behaviors that lead to greater profitability is the key to survival. Typically, 20 percent of the View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

22 Feb 2021
Book

Reaching Today's Omnichannel Customer Takes a New Sales Strategy

because sales tasks are determined by a firm’s business strategy and its choices about which customers to focus on. In turn, selling behaviors are affected by your control systems and culture as well as whom... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

2024
Article

Effects of a Real-Time Information-Based Intervention on Physician Prescribing Behavior

By: Olivia Zhao and Anna D Sinaiko

High out-of-pocket (OOP) prices for prescription drugs create financial difficulties for patients, and cost-related underuse of medications can adversely patient health. Simultaneously, many physicians report a willingness to address affordability concerns with... View Details

Keywords: Price; Health Care and Treatment; Communication Technology; Technology Adoption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Industry

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26 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way to Go to Market

more vehicles than they can sell and—unable to make money from new cars—turn to service and trade-ins to eke out margins. And at the bottom of the chain are customers trapped in high-pressure negotiations for a car that isn't the exact... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

July 20, 2016
Article

To Increase Sales, Get Customers to Commit a Little at a Time

By: Frank V. Cespedes and David Hoffeld

This article discusses what behavioral research does and does not tell us about factors that aid the "closing" of a sales call. View Details

Keywords: Research; Consumer Behavior; Sales

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26 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact

Keywords: by Michelle A. Shell and Ryan W. Buell; Health

Article

Determining Segmentation in Sales Response Across Consumer Purchase Behaviors

By: Randolph E. Bucklin, Sunil Gupta and S. Siddarth

Keywords: Segmentation; Sales; Customers; Behavior

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August 1988
Background Note

Close Encounters of the Four Kinds: Managing Customers in a Rapidly Changing Environment

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Describes four kinds of selling: 1) transaction, 2) systems, 3) major account management, and 4) strategic account relationships. Explains the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of each. The second half is devoted to a discussion of strategic account relationships... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Social Psychology

August 2019
Case

The United States and Russia: Gas Rivals in Europe?

By: Rawi Abdelal, Galit Goldstein and Paul Apostolicas

Though the shale revolution transformed the U.S. into the largest producer of petroleum products, it was unclear how much success American exporters would find selling liquefied natural gas on the European energy market. Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian energy... View Details