Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

As a direct marketer we have been good at customer intimacy. We know a lot about our customers. We have known for a long time that we needed to be operationally excellent, but in the past we''ve fixed problems reactively, after the event, to keep customers happy. But it isn''t easy.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Operations Supply Chain Retail 8

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

Know your customers intimately. Never settling, IBM management charged a taskforce with developing a personal computer to compete in the young, growing market for smaller, more versatile machines. Newly appointed CEO Lou Gerstner logged thousands of hours visiting customers, industry experts and analysts.

Customer Intimacy 14

Customer Intimacy How To Mass Marketing System 14

Harvard Business Review

JULY 29, 2013

We spoke with Mike Moorman, a senior leader in ZS Associates'' B2B sales and marketing practice and a leading authority on sales management, about how inside sales (which refers to sales positions done remotely from headquarters, without face-to-face meetings with clients) is transforming the way that B2B companies interact with their customers.

B2B 8

B2B Power Market Segmentation Customer Intimacy 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Seed investors are mostly operating as growth investors, expecting that the entrepreneur will somehow manage to bridge the gap and bring a concept to realization. Through these kinds of dialogues, entrepreneurs diagnose real pain-points in customers, and end up building products that customers are willing to pay for.

Productivity 8

Productivity Products Customer Intimacy Benchmarking 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2013

It means building a profile of each customer, based on transaction and social media data (e.g., IBM has built a customer database called Blue Insight , an analytics cloud computer system that unifies hundreds of software applications for more than 200,000 IBM consulting, sales, technical and marketing people.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Market Segmentation Human Resources 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 3, 2015

Example: Carol owns a small business and needs a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Supporters: These customers are aware of your company and brand, and buy from you consciously. Your customers are waiting. She is a leadership consultant with OpenMatters. for the right incentives and shared value.

CRM 8

CRM Brand Business Model Intangible Assets 8