Harvard Business Review

MARCH 29, 2013

While a focus on lowering costs, improving quality, and providing consistent, reliable service will continue to be important, I see a shift in the coming decade to combining operational excellence with customer intimacy: tailored solutions for individual customers based on a deep understanding of their needs.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Operations Supply Chain Transportation 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2011

Throughout the 1920s, and even in the midst of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, he kept the company focused on what was then cutting-edge tabulation — the punch card machine — pouring profits back into research and development. Know your customers intimately. The deadline for the IBM PC's introduction was Fall 1981.

Customer Intimacy 15

Customer Intimacy How To Mass Marketing System 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Initially, the company relied entirely on services to get close to customers, understand and address their problems, and in the process generate revenues. Much of what the company learned about its customers in the services mode has been developed into its product, although a good percentage of revenues still comes from services.

Productivity 8

Productivity Products Customer Intimacy Benchmarking 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2013

The biggest changes, not surprisingly, are in the marketing function, itself — the source of these new, more detailed customer insights. It means building a profile of each customer, based on transaction and social media data (e.g., Clicking on these pages shows a company that is educating customers, not hawking products.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Market Segmentation Human Resources 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 29, 2013

Third, new easy-to-use online webinar and videoconferencing technologies make it possible for inside salespeople to create customer intimacy without field interaction. Use field sales to sell more complex products and services that require a consultative approach and customization. By geography.

B2B 8

B2B Power Market Segmentation Customer Intimacy 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 3, 2015

It starts by understanding customers’ affinity with the brands. Through our research on network-centric businesses and our experience advising hundreds of companies we have developed a framework for understanding customer affinity. Over its lifetime, the app store has generated more than $25 billion for developers.

CRM 8

CRM Brand Business Model Intangible Assets 8