Two is Better Than One
Who invented the airline-size booze bottle and did they really think it was a good idea
This is a mystery to me, but if it was considered an improvement or innovation at the time, it has certainly outlived its usefulness. Recently I was on a plane where the flight attendant actually poured me a glass of wine from a real bottle into a real glass – in coach! I think this is a combination of both better service as well as a more cost effective approach to dispensing large volumes of liquids. Of course there are some flights – the shuttle from D.C. to Boston for example – that really need to plop down a tiny bottle and plastic cup on your tray and move on to the next seat quickly.
More importantly, this new development in the airline industry (not to mention USAir finally going back to free coffee and soft drinks) is a great thing. We have a situation where providing better service is actually more cost effective (plus it is a much greener use of packaging). Could this actually become a trend? The airline industry sure could use a positive trend right now.
Previously I believed there were three types of business outcomes that could be gained from making investments in CRM or other customer-facing initiatives. You could improve revenue growth, you could increase operational efficiency, or you could increase the value of the customer experience. And while I understood these three types of results had relationships with each other, I tended to treat them as distinct targets. Moreover, I encouraged my clients to pick a primary outcome as the source of a business case for their investments. Go after growth, efficiency or customer experience, but don’t try to go after them all. One should be the primary focus and anything else would be a secondary benefit or icing on the cake.
Lately it has been getting more complicated, but in a good way – like the better service at less cost by making me a gin and tonic that is poured from a liter size bottle of Tanqueray instead of something the size of my thumb.
What has started happening is that my clients are no longer satisfied with going after a single outcome. Now they want both the savings from efficiency and to use that to fuel growth. How audacious! Some want to grow the business in a way that builds loyalty through better service quality. Outrageous! Others even want to improve customer service by removing inefficiencies in the overall service process and gain both higher satisfaction and lower cost. This is going too far!
Now instead of three outcome types there are six – growth, efficiency, experience, growth/efficiency, efficiency/experience, and experience/growth. I just can’t keep up. Although, to be honest, the combo outcomes are the popular ones now, so maybe we are really back down to having three. And if you can have icing on your cake and eat it too, why not go for it?
The great thing about these new compound outcomes is that they help make the business case for CRM investment stronger. One of my clients is in significant growth mode, but needs to add some discipline and standardization to their processes. The process streamlining not only reduces waste, but will help facilitate growth as their market inevitably tightens up. So, it makes sense – let’s get two outcomes for the price of one. Hey we are in a recession and we can use all the help we can get
Meanwhile, I’ll take a refill on that lowered-cost gin and tonic.