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The Ordinary Heroes of the Taj
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleWhen terrorists attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, employees of the Taj Mumbai hotel displayed uncommon valor. They placed the safety of guests... -
Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers
Customer experience Magazine ArticleTo really win their loyalty, forget the bells and whistles and just solve their problems. -
The Four Things a Service Business Must Get Right
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleMany of the management tools and techniques used in service businesses were designed to tackle the challenges of product companies. Although they are... -
Quality Is More Than Making a Good Product
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThe quality of customer service is often as important as the quality of the product. A company can evaluate its customer service by performing a customer... -
The Value of Keeping the Right Customers
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleA refresher on customer churn rate. -
Do Rewards Really Create Loyalty?
Market research Magazine ArticleThey do—if a company understands how to share value. -
Competing on the Eight Dimensions of Quality
Consumer behavior Magazine ArticleU.S. managers know that they have to improve the quality of their products because, alas, U.S. consumers have told them so. A survey in 1981 reported that nearly 50% of U.S. consumers believed that the quality of U.S. products had dropped during the previous five years; more recent surveys have found that a quarter of […] -
Why Is Customer Service So Bad? Because It’s Profitable.
Business ethics Digital ArticleIf customers can’t reach a human, they can’t get their money back. -
Know What Your Customers Want Before They Do
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleShoppers once relied on familiar salespeople to help them find exactly what they wanted--and sometimes to suggest additional items they hadn't even thought... -
Using Technology to Create a Better Customer Experience
Customer experience Digital ArticleYour strategy should be driven by relationship-building — not shiny new tech. -
10 Ways to Boost Customer Satisfaction
Customer experience Digital ArticleTakeaways from an analysis of millions of consumer data points. -
Net Promoter 3.0
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleSince its introduction, in 2003, the Net Promoter System, which measures how consistently brands turn customers into advocates, has become the predominant... -
Where Does the Customer Fit in a Service Operation?
Organizational restructuring Magazine ArticleWhile management skills can improve service systems, a manager is better off if he or she first has a clear understanding of the operating characteristics that set one service system apart from another. This author offers one view of services, which, if followed, results in a “rational approach to the rationalization” of services. His view, […] -
How B2B Businesses Can Get Omnichannel Sales Right
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleBuyers expect the same level of service and flexibility as when they shop in their personal lives. -
Engaged Employees Create Better Customer Experiences
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleCompanies should find ways to connect employees and customers regardless of whether "customer service" is in their job description. -
Avatar-Based Marketing
Organizational culture Magazine ArticleCompanies spend large sums trying to segment, reach, and influence potential customers. They should think about targeting those customers’ online alter egos, as well. -
The Most Common Reasons Customer Experience Programs Fail
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleFor one, they're not flexible enough. -
Diamonds in the Data Mine
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleHarrah's Entertainment may not offer the most dazzling casinos in the business, but it is the most profitable gaming company in the United States. Since... -
Free Your Frontline Workers to Innovate
Innovation Digital ArticleNot long ago, I visited a Trader Joe’s in Boston’s Back Bay. As I went to pay for my goods, I found a seemingly endless line for the cash registers. Well over 40 people were waiting to check out. It was “rush hour,” so perhaps I had no right to be surprised. But startled I […] -
Customer-Centric Continuous Improvement
Sales & Marketing Digital Article[This post is part of Creating a Customer-Centered Organization.] Improving customer value continuously is difficult in almost any organization. That's...
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Federal Express: The Money Back Guarantee (B), Japanese Version
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details See (A) case. -
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.: Rewarding Our People, Portuguese Version
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Marilyn Winn, head of human resources at Harrah's Entertainment, must make a recommendation to the company's president and CEO about whether the existing... -
Onefinestay: Building a Luxury Experience in the Sharing Economy
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95View Details Miranda Cresswell, marketing director, and Greg Marsh, founder and CEO of onefinestay, were grappling with branding and positioning dilemmas. onefinestay... -
Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture, Chinese Version
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95View Details On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately-held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft-line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19... -
Quantum Corp.: eSupplyChain Group
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details The eSupplyChain group has been recently formed with Quantum Corp.'s Hard Disk Drive Group to evaluate Internet/IT-based approaches to improving supply... -
Buckman Laboratories (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details Explores the implementation of a cutting-edge knowledge management system in a midsize, specialty chemical company. The initiative, begun in the early... -
What's the Deal with LivingSocial?, Spanish Version
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95View Details Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"-in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted... -
Tamago-ya of Japan: Delivering Lunch Boxes to Your Work
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details Tamago-ya is a family-owned business located in Tokyo, Japan. The company has captured a unique position in the market of selling pre-packaged lunch boxes... -
Federal Express: The Money Back Guarantee (C), Japanese Version
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details See (A) case. -
Aman Resorts (Abridged)
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details Aman Resorts (Abridged) describes the operating model and philosophy of this high-end set of global properties. Aman relies on employees taking considerable... -
Alaska Airlines and Flight 261 (C), Japanese Version
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Eataly: Reimagining the Grocery Store (Multimedia Case)
Management Tool25.00View Details Within a few years of its operations, the Italian-based supermarket Eataly created a lot of buzz and excitement among consumers and media. Eataly's initial... -
The Curious Case of the Disputed Rabbits
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details Service systems are inherently subject to variability, whether through customers, service providers, suppliers, or unexpected events. Yet customers demand... -
Washington Mutual (A): A Very Old Bank Can Grow-A Lot!
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details Describes the ways in which Washington Mutual preserved and reinforced its brand through two phases of expansion, the first based on acquisition and the... -
Magazine Luiza: Building a Retail Model of "Courting the Poor"
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details Describes the innovative retail model of the Brazilian firm Magazine Luiza. Magazine Luiza enables low-income consumer credit by applying a flexible and... -
Package War: Fedex vs. UPS
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details Allows students to observe two competing businesses transform themselves over time. By following the competitive actions and reactions over more than... -
RENOVATING HOME DEPOT: 2000-2006
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details Having diagnosed the situation, he made overdue investments in systems and brought in new blood from outside, instilling new discipline, capabilities... -
We Can Hear You Now (A): A Customer Survey Design for a Six Sigma Project at Crutchfield Corp.
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details Appropriate for marketing and operations management courses. The director of CS at a customer-focused catalog electronics company has asked a Six Sigma... -
American Airlines (A): Strategy in the 1990s
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details American Airlines is pursuing a growth strategy through international and domestic route expansion. At the same time, the airline is working hard to cut... -
Making RFID Work: The World's Largest University Library RFID Implementation
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details In October 2008, the University of Hong Kong's Libraries ("HKU Libraries") successfully launched an initiative to introduce radio-frequency identification...
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The Ordinary Heroes of the Taj
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleWhen terrorists attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, employees of the Taj Mumbai hotel displayed uncommon valor. They placed the safety of guests... -
Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers
Customer experience Magazine ArticleTo really win their loyalty, forget the bells and whistles and just solve their problems. -
The Four Things a Service Business Must Get Right
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleMany of the management tools and techniques used in service businesses were designed to tackle the challenges of product companies. Although they are... -
Quality Is More Than Making a Good Product
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThe quality of customer service is often as important as the quality of the product. A company can evaluate its customer service by performing a customer... -
The Value of Keeping the Right Customers
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleA refresher on customer churn rate. -
Do Rewards Really Create Loyalty?
Market research Magazine ArticleThey do—if a company understands how to share value. -
Competing on the Eight Dimensions of Quality
Consumer behavior Magazine ArticleU.S. managers know that they have to improve the quality of their products because, alas, U.S. consumers have told them so. A survey in 1981 reported that nearly 50% of U.S. consumers believed that the quality of U.S. products had dropped during the previous five years; more recent surveys have found that a quarter of […] -
Why Is Customer Service So Bad? Because It’s Profitable.
Business ethics Digital ArticleIf customers can’t reach a human, they can’t get their money back. -
Know What Your Customers Want Before They Do
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleShoppers once relied on familiar salespeople to help them find exactly what they wanted--and sometimes to suggest additional items they hadn't even thought... -
Using Technology to Create a Better Customer Experience
Customer experience Digital ArticleYour strategy should be driven by relationship-building — not shiny new tech.