Big R vs. little r

little r definition of the “relationship” are premised upon mapping internal practices to discrete customer-related events on “the other side of the teller window” or other delivery channels, such as call centers, IVR systems, web sites, kiosks, or mail.

In practice, internal entities define the “relationship” in terms of their interaction with the customer. Each interaction represents another view of the “elephant”.  

These definitions of the “Relationship” are premised upon maintaining visibility to the context of the customer to enable understanding of customer’s motivations, needs, and requests

In practice, the customer defines the relationship as one between their unique personal “wealth” goals and the enabling vehicles (products and services).  The customer experiences the relationship as a set of interactions occurring over time through multiple channels.  

Little “r” relationships are customer pointed; that is, I attempt to know more about my customer so I can push more product to the customer

Big “R” Relationships are value focused; that is, I attempt to know more about my customer so I can increase the value proposition for the customer and my enterprise

Little “r” relationships are product centric or line-of-business centric; that is, my performance metrics and profitability assessment are at the product or line-of-business level

Big “R” Relationships are customer centric; that is, my performance metrics and profitability assessment are at the customer level

Little “r” relationships are profitability focused; that is, I attempt to identify profitable customers so I can focus on high-dollar customers and encourage low-dollar customers to go elsewhere

Big “R” Relationships are profitability enabled; that is, I identify the cost of delivery, product & service profiles, and other factors that determine profitability so I can balance my business model with my customer model