Imagine an online travel company.
One approach is to find the best destinations with the best prices and sell package holidays to anyone who needs a break.
There are problems with this.
First, if anyone can package holidays the way you package holidays, then a competitor a short click away will take half of your business—more than half, if they reduce their price.
Second, and more important, no one needs a package holiday. It’s a desire, not a need.
So why should people care?
Perhaps that customer does want the best airfares, hotel tariffs and rates for every other thing. They want the all-inclusive holiday package which includes most of their meals, as well as drinks. It’s easy to budget for. Bang for buck. And they can spread the cost over several months.
Perhaps the customer wants convenience. They want to remove the stress by taking the minimal planning path. They’re prepared to pay a premium price for the luxury of having a high-quality holiday organised for them by the expert. Zero headache.
Perhaps it’s a status symbol. That there’s an impressive portfolio to choose from with bucket-list destinations all over the world. Plus the tailor-made itinerary means that they’ll get an experience they wouldn’t otherwise do if they were to book independently
Any of these perspectives and transformations are available to the travel agent as soon as they decide to make a stand.
But knowing the perspective your customer holds is insufficient. You still have to act on it, open up the door to the opportunity, and model the entire system around that perspective.
This is the approach that helps people understand that you are remarkable, and this is the approach that makes things better.