N2Growth Blog

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

We must be able to discern what role we are expecting digital technology to play within the business. It is only with this understanding that we can establish the necessary linkages required to inform digital technology direction-setting. Indeed, it is not enough to have a vivid and compelling business strategy.

Strategy 189

Strategy Tips Customer Intimacy Strategic Planning 189

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2011

At its 100-year milestone, IBM shows us what it takes to outlast depression, war, and intense competition in order to remain a market leader in the midst of ongoing technological innovation. Know your customers intimately. 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

JUNE 17, 2015

We have shifted from a competitive landscape in which companies are more exclusively focused on external forces affecting their industries and sectors, to one that has become significantly more customer-centric. Consider the battle waged by IBM’s software development teams between competing methods for getting closer to customers.

Productivity 8

Productivity Products Customer Intimacy Software 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

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. Initially, the company relied entirely on services to get close to customers, understand and address their problems, and in the process generate revenues.

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. By addressing common (and often difficult) questions in such an up-front way, the impression customers get, said Sheridan, is "Oh my gosh, these guys are so honest.".

Customer Intimacy 8

Customer Intimacy Supply Chain Market Segmentation Human Resources 8