A cafe owner was famous for his soup.
His accountant told him he could boost his profit if he would add just 5 percent more water to the recipe.
The accountant was right.
They added water and no one noticed.
Months later, they added 5 percent more water and still no one noticed.
Later, they added more water.
And then a little more.
But never more than 5 percent.
Because they had "proven" that customers couldn’t detect just 5 percent more added water.
Lower your costs and profit will rise, is the central belief of a cost-cutter.
Short-term, the cost-cutter looks like a genius.
But the cost-cutter never considers the damage to customer experience.
The cafe owner didn't slowly lose his customers.
He lost them all at once.
"The soup here just isn't as good as it used to be."
Adapted from "Shrink Your Way to Success"
Original article Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads
Adapted by Craig Arthur, Wizard of Ads Australia