2. United’s Approach to CRM
• Creates the world’s most
comprehensive global network,
serving 370 destinations
worldwide
• Continued commitment to
award-winning customer
service and industry-leading
on-time performance
• Award-winning international
premium products
• Industry-leading loyalty
program with over 85 millions
total members
2
4. Which Created the World’s
Largest FFP
• 90 million accounts
• 30 years of transactional history
• Consolidate into one industry-
leading program
• Plus millions and millions of
unidentified customers
4
5. Data Challenges Presented
Opportunities
• Two different database
providers and structures
• Varying levels of data quality
• Different policies of customer
data collection
• Out of date records and
accounts
• Little visibility into customer
overlap
Created an opportunity to launch an enterprise-wide
customer data initiative
5
6. Transformational Times
• Role of the mobile device
• Increased reliance on self-service
• Email an over-used channel
• GPS and location based systems
• Social media
“The number of mobile devices has
surpassed the number of toothbrushes
in the world.”
Gartner CRM Summit 2011
6
7. Defining What CRM Means
Evaluate All Possible Definitions
Create a differentiated
customer experience?
Aggressive evolution of
data-driven marketing?
Focus on call centers
and sales force
Something else?
7
8. Ensure Senior-Level Support
through Executive Engagement
• Chief Executive Officer
• Chief Financial Officer
• Chief Information Officer
• Chief Revenue Officer
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief of Loyalty Business Unit
• Marketing Leadership (several layers deep)
• Operations Leadership (several layers deep)
• And more…
8
10. Getting Started
• We required four things to get started:
1
$1 million in funding for first year
2
Limited internal staffing to start
3
Ability to pick the right external partners
4
Agreement on definition
10
11. Our Challenge: Ensure Support
and Funding over the Long Run
• United took two parallel paths:
Execute quick wins, develop proof of concept
projects and build on what we already had
Set up strategic roadmap and plan for a
more significant investment over time
11
12. At the End of Year One
• We accomplished everything we agreed to do
– Data
• Successfully merge, de-dupe and operationalize a
consolidated database
• Prototype a database of non-frequent flyer members
– Customer experience
• Pilot a customer recognition program in the airport experience
– Marketing
• Create a new member segmentation scheme and other
predictive analytics
• Launch event driven marketing to support merchandising
efforts
12
14. Year Two
A More Aggressive Strategy Needed
• Kicking off year two, now with even more clear direction
Don’t just define CRM and CRM success,
define CRM success this year
Build on successful pilots through foundational
changes, requiring significant IT budget and
resources
Balance CRM projects between best financial
returns and most noticeable changes to the
customer experience
Pick the right external partners and move
forward aggressively
14
15. Picking the Right Projects
• Projects must drive financial results
• Projects must improve the customer experience
• Projects must be doable, both operationally and within IT constraints
• Finalize on the projects that will make executives ‘believe’
15
16. The Projects United Chose
for Year Two
Build full non- Customer Improve day Data-driven
member recognition of departure marketing
database
16
17. Project 1: Non-Member Database
Overview
• Significant need for non-member
database:
– Over 50% of onboard passengers
not program members
– Growing need to do prospect
marketing and ancillary sales to this
customer group
– Additional need to communicate
with non-members for operational
needs
– Non-members may be high value
consumers to a competitor
17
18. Project 1: Non-Member Database
Challenges
History Data Incomplete Other Issues
Structures Data
• Network carriers • United and • Non-member • Bundled
rely on FFP Continental data capture, not data, groups, age
data for stored data stored ncy bookings
marketing differently
18
19. Project 1: Non-Member Database
Solution
Steps to Clean the Data Acxiom Solution
• Reverse append • Multiple
• Address hygiene name, address, phone, email
• Match to previous non- variations
members • Acxiom AbiliTec® knowledge
• Identify suppression records base
• Append InfoBase® • Various match levels
demographic data • Recognition of previous non-
members built over time
19
21. Project 2: Customer Recognition
Overview
• Bring humanity back to travel
experience:
– Massive amounts of
customer data
– Desire to recognize
customer milestones
– Create positive interactions
for employees
– Solve for complex
operating environment
21
22. Project 2: Customer Recognition
Challenges
History Data Delivery Employee Challenging
Adoption Environment
• Customer data • No ‘pipes’ • No practical way • Difficult to add
in airports existed between to manage tasks to an
limited to marketing data thousands of already
customer and the airport airport challenging
reservation systems employees operating
environment
22
23. Project 2: Customer Recognition
Solution
Customer data in the airports limited to customer Data processing within
reservation marketing systems
No ‘pipes’ existed between marketing data and the Use auto-generated emails
airport systems to send data
No practical way to manage thousands of airport Make it enjoyable for the
employees employees
Difficult to add tasks to an already challenging Program participation not
operating environment mandatory
23
24. Project 2: Customer Recognition
Benefits
Satisfied Customers
Happier Employees
Differentiating Program
Foundation for Further
Development
24
25. Project 3: Day of Departure
Overview
• Accurate, timely information is
the highest driver of customer
satisfaction during irregular
operations
25
28. Project 4: Customer Recognition
Solution and Benefits
Member Acquisition
Relevance of Communications
Response Rates
Incremental Revenue
28
29. At the End of Year Two
CRM success as defined by executives
Made significant investment, returned significant dollars
Changes in the customer experience
Solid partnership to solidify future opportunity
29
