Harvard Business Review

JUNE 17, 2015

In this article we look at three very different organizations – IBM, Rich Products, and Intuit – and the three different paths they have taken in reconfiguring their operations for more customer intimacy, by changing methods, reengineering processes, and transforming culture. IBM: Applying a Hybrid Design-Thinking Approach.

Productivity 8

Productivity Products Customer Intimacy Software 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

JULY 19, 2017

Operational excellence, customer intimacy, or product leadership — successful companies excel in one dimension and perform well in the others. Developing an ecosystem of partners. Digital transformation requires new strengths. That may change as a company undergoes a digital transformation. Mastering big data.

Technology 8

Technology CIO Content Customer Intimacy 8

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

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

The question really is: Can digital natives develop software-enabled solutions that siphon off significant value from industrial hardware? Mastery of hard science is a pre-requisite to develop software-based solutions on the hardware. Customer intimacy. The answer is “yes.” ” But it won’t be easy.

Industry 8

Industry Software Six Sigma Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

If lucky, a start-up grows and develops a success formula. having sacrificed customer intimacy for increased operational excellence gains through widespread cost cutting, are well documented. Anti-fragile systems love randomness and uncertainty; going beyond resilience or robustness, they get stronger with stress and volatility.

Organization 8

Organization Supply Chain Customer Intimacy Stress 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

New technology promises to allow retailers to beat online players at their own game, transforming the customer experience and dramatically improving their positioning. One of the most exciting areas of development is the marrying of mobile apps, location sensing technologies (e.g.,

Retail 8

Retail Customer Intimacy Loyalty Real Estate 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. Clicking on these pages shows a company that is educating customers, not hawking products. Companies know far more about their customers by analyzing all the data they collect on them.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Market Segmentation Human Resources 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 29, 2013

But here are some examples of how brands are meeting the challenge: Develop customer intimacy. Every strategy begins with an understanding of your target customer. We already know that. But it''s worth restating because, here, it implies something vaguely different.

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Retail Brand Tactics 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. For field salespeople, this means developing new technology and communication competencies. What kind of results can companies expect?

B2B 8

B2B Power Market Segmentation Customer Intimacy 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2013

The key lies in developing and exploiting "proprietary data" — data that you and you alone possess. One retailer develops an insight into customer behavior and others follow suit. It is vital to develop a deep understanding of what is essential for the future. But don't avoid this avenue on that score alone.

Competitive Advantage 8

Competitive Advantage Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Retail 8

Lead Change Blog

OCTOBER 16, 2015

The culprit was the myopic view of leadership driven by a “make the numbers” through operational excellence not customer intimacy. And, the human in command of taking care of the customer was jailed by a system that quarantined a solution that favored the customer.

P&L 150

P&L Customer Intimacy Price Retail 150

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

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 30, 2013

For example, we are building a development platform for the iPad, and defining how it will interact with our electronic medical record system. Yet at the same time they use these standards as a springboard for creating unique solutions for each customer based on a deep understanding of their needs. (I

Operations 8

Operations Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Wiersema 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Using IT services to generate cash and develop customer intimacy, it is entirely possible to build products. We have numerous case studies of this being a tried and true procedure, and recommend it strongly.

Incubator 8

Incubator Stage-Gate Venture Capitalist How To 8