Publications

19 Feb 2014
News

Choosing the Right Customer

2003
Book

The Value Profit Chain: Treat Employees Like Customers and Customers Like Employees

By: James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Keywords: Value; Profit; Employees; Customers

Find at Harvard

January 2005 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Zipcar: Influencing Customer Behavior

By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

At Zipcar, customers share the use of cars and, as a result, rely on each other for their service experience. Customers are required to keep the car clean and the gas tank full and to return the car on time. Told from the perspective of two customers: Sal Fishman, who... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Governance Controls; Behavior; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Consumer Behavior; Leasing; Transportation Industry; Service Industry; United States

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Exercise

Travelogo: Understanding Customer Journeys

By: Eva Ascarza, Nicolas Padilla and Oded Netzer

In late May 2023, Sarah Merino, the newly appointed manager of the Customer Insights group at Travelogo—an online travel booking platform—initiates a comprehensive analysis of clickstream data to understand the varied behaviors and needs of their users. In preparation... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Analysis; Analytics and Data Science; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Consumer Behavior; Travel Industry; United States

fall 1996
Article

The Relationships of Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty, and Profitability: An Empirical Study

2004
Article

Valuing Customers

By: Sunil Gupta, Donald R. Lehmann and Jennifer A. Stuart

Keywords: Value; Customers

Find at Harvard

September 2024
Exercise

Assessing the Value of Unifying and De-Duplicating Customer Data

By: Elie Ofek and Hema Yoganarasimhan

This exercise provides an opportunity for students to gain hands on experience with assessing the value of unifying various customer databases that a firm may have (e.g., across the different brands it markets) and of properly identifying customers to avoid duplication... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Measurement and Metrics; Analytics and Data Science; Value

July 1998 (Revised October 2004)
Case

Custom Research Inc. (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Susan Harmeling

Custom Research is considering terminating service to many clients to eliminate unprofitable work and concentrate on the more profitable client projects. View Details

Keywords: Customers; Profit; Decision Making; Service Industry

1995
Book

Power and Influence Customized Course Module

By: L. A. Hill

Keywords: Power and Influence

August 1984 (Revised March 1989)
Background Note

Direct, Personal Leadership

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Richard R. Ellsworth

Argues that to be effective leaders, general managers must focus on substance, not process, and aggressively combat the forces that can lead to the politicization of the organization. Examines the leader's direct role in setting and communicating goals, managing the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Management Practices and Processes

17 May 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Delivering a Personalized Shopping Experience with AI

Keywords: Re: Jill J. Avery

13 May 2013
News

The Personal Touch

Alex Timken has led all three Class of 1996 Reunion Campaigns, including a record-breaking 15th Reunion. That campaign raised more than $3 million, with Timken’s Section H achieving 57 percent participation, the highest in the class. Timken’s face-to-face meetings with... View Details

TeachingInterests

MBA Elective Curriculum Personal Selling and Sales Force Management

Personal selling is the primary (and sometimes the only) form of marketing activity for many firms, especially in a business-to-business context. The course focuses on the tactical component of managing a salesforce and on the strategic element of linking sales... View Details

01 Mar 2009
News

Local Customs

of opening fifty ‘microfactories’ around the globe, each building 2,000 units a year of cars customized to fit different regions’ local tastes,” the Boston Herald reported (December 15, 2008). Invoking the sudsy success story of Jim Koch... View Details

Keywords: Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers

15 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Learning from Mistakes and Leveraging Personal Experiences: Tiffany Kent (MBA 2001)

strengths and added a new level of purpose to my commitment to offering a more personalized advisory service. Every pivot, layoff, and career choice has underscored for me the... View Details

March 1997
Background Note

Note on Customer Behavior

By: Gerald Zaltman

A review of selected key concepts that are useful for understanding customers. The importance of understanding customers is also discussed, along with a short description of new frontiers in the study of customer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Marketing; Consumer Behavior

Article

Valuing Customers

By: Sunil Gupta, Donald R. Lehmann and Jennifer A. Stuart

Keywords: Value; Customers