CRM in the air

精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）25万份精华管理资料，2万多集管理视频讲座精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）专业提供企管培训资料CRMintheairURSBINGGELI,SANJAYGUPTA,ANDCARLOSDEPOMMESTheMcKinseyQuarterly,2002Number3Inthe1980s,airlinesintroducedfrequent-flyerprogramstoincreasetheloyaltyoftheircustomers,therebypioneeringanewapproachtomarketingthathascometobeknown,morebroadly,ascustomerrelationshipmanagement.Today,CRMprogramsareusedinawidevarietyofindustriestoidentifyandretainvaluablecustomers,toencouragefickleonestospendmore,andtocutthecostofservingthosewhoarelessvaluable.ButthepioneershavefailedtokeeppacewithCRMinnovation—totheirdetriment.Asurveyof17majorairlinesaroundtheworldrevealsthateventhemostsophisticatedamongthemhaveonlyarudimentaryunderstandingofwhotheirmostvaluablecustomersareorcouldbe,whichfactorsaffectthebehaviorofthesecustomers,andwhichCRMleversaremosteffectiveinensuringloyalty.1AirlinesfellbehindbestpracticeinCRMbecausetheywerecomplacent,attachedlittleimportancetononoperationalandnoncriticalsystems,ordidn’tgraspthefinancialimplicationsofgettingthingsright.Theresult:today,airlinesknowonlymarginallymoreaboutthepeoplewhoflyontheirplanesthantheydidtenyearsago.Giventhetroubledconditionofmanyairlines,2theyurgentlyneedtomakebetteruseofCRM.Effectiveimplementationofsuchaprogramcanincreaseanairline’srevenuebyasmuchas2.4percentayear,representingabottom-lineannualimpactof$100millionto$250millionforalargecarrier(Exhibit1).3Industryexperiencesuggeststhatuptoaquarterofthisamountrepresentslow-hangingfruitandcanbeharvestedwithinayearthroughcampaignstowinbackcustomerswhohavegoneovertocompetitors,forexample,ortotargetoccasionalpassengerswhohavebeenidentifiedashigh-potentialones(Exhibit2).精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）25万份精华管理资料，2万多集管理视频讲座精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）专业提供企管培训资料MostairlineslackthesystemsandprocessestoimplementaCRMprogramandthusdon’thavecompleteorconsistentdataoncustomers.Forinstance,althoughairlinescomeintocontactwiththemacrossarangeofchannels—notonlytelephonesandtheInternetbutalsoairports,customerservicedesks,andairplanes—dataaren’tcollectedconsistentlyoraccuratelyatanyoftheseinteractionpoints.Bestpractitionersdokeeprecordsoftimeswhencustomershadpoorflyingexperiencesandanalyzewhethertheyaffectthefrequencyofflying.Aspecial-handlingservice(accesstoaloungethatwouldnormallybeoff-limits,forinstance)thenexttimesuchacustomercheckedincouldworkwonders.Atsomeairlines,dataofthissortarestoredinupto20differentinternalsystemsand10externalones(whichmightincludethedatabasesoftheairlines’marketingpartners).Theprocessofconsolidatingfragmenteddataisdifficultandpronetoerror.Fixingtechnological-infrastructureproblemsisalong-termchallenge,butsuchaninvestmentalonewouldnotguaranteeresults.OneUSairlinespent$25milliononanewdatawarehouseandassociatedtoolsbutfailedtousetheresultinginformationprofitably,inpartbecauseafterithadbeencollectedtheairlinerealizedthatitwasn’tcompleteandinpart精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）25万份精华管理资料，2万多集管理视频讲座精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）专业提供企管培训资料becausenotalldivisionsoftheairline’sorganizationhadsignedontotheproject’sgoals.Manyairlinescan’tidentifytheirmostvaluablecustomers,becausetheirfrequent-flyerprogramsarelittlemorethangeneral-ledgersystemsthattrackaccruedandspentmiles.Althoughageneralcorrelationdoesexistbetweenthetiersofafrequent-flyerprogramandthevalueofthecustomersenrolledinthem(meaningthatinmostcasesafrequentflyerintheelitecategoryisthemostprofitablekindofcustomer),furtheranalysiscanproveilluminating.Customerswithinthesametieroftenrepresentwidelydifferentlevelsofvaluetoairlines,andasmallbutsignificantnumberofpassengersinthelowertiers—regulartravelerswhopayfullfare,forexample—couldbeofgreatervaluethanpassengersintheupperones.Anotherbigproblemforairlinesisthefactthattheyrarelyknowhowmuchtheircustomersspendwithcompetitors.Apassengerwhotraveledinfrequentlyonagivenairline,forexample,mighttravelextensivelyononeofitscompetitorsandwouldthusbeamorefruitfultargetformarketingthanitsownfrequenttravelers.Oneairlineanalyzedone-segment(one-way)flightstakenbyitspassengersanddiscoveredthattheywereflyingtheothersegmentoncompetingcarriers.Adifferentairlineusedrecordsfromitsco-brandedcreditcardtodeterminewhereitscustomerscollectedtheirfrequent-flyerpoints.Itthentargetedpassengerscollectingpointsinhotelsandrestaurantsincountrieswherenocorrespondingflightshadbeentaken.Severalfactorsinfluencethebehaviorofpassengers(Exhibit3).Thechallengeforairlinesistounderstandtheactualandpotentialvalueofeachcustomerandtopinpointtheactionsandincentivesneededtomaximizeit(Exhibit4).Best-practiceCRMdemonstratesthatitisindeedpossibletocapturethelostvalueofthesecustomers.精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）25万份精华管理资料，2万多集管理视频讲座精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）专业提供企管培训资料精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）25万份精华管理资料，2万多集管理视频讲座精品资料网（http://www.cnshu.cn）专业提供企管培训资料Notes:UrsBinggeliisaconsultantinMcKinsey’sZurichoffice;SanjayGuptaisanalumnusoftheJohannesburgoffice;CarlosdePommesisaconsultantintheAmsterdamoffice.1NineEuropean,fiveNorthAmerican,andthreeAsia-Pacificairlinesrespondedtothesurvey,conductedin2001.2Formoreonthestateo