Is Your Business a Destination?

By Carl Woolston • March 19th, 2009 • Email This Post • Print This Post

Last week I was able to get away with my wife for a vacation with just the two of us to Cancun, Mexico. It was nice to get away from the daily routine and experience a bunch of really fun things. In the hotel zone in Cancun there aren’t a lot of options for basic supplies that you would get at your local store here in the states. You know, for the things you forget like sunscreen, beach towels, a better swimsuit or the things you decide you want or need like snorkeling gear or games.

Where do you think people go in the hotel zone in Cancun for those basic supplies? Yep, a Wal-Mart. But how do they get over to the Wal-Mart without transportation? Easy, there is a bus for it. Every day, on many occasions, a bus from the hotel zone goes to and from Wal-Mart. Think of that, a brand that is big enough that you go on vacation to Cancun and a tour bus has Wal-Mart as the destination.

Walmart-Destination

I’ve been thinking about what I saw ever since. What can make a business a destination? What can make our prospective clients and customers seek us out when they have a need? Here are my thoughts?

Meet your customers at the level of their need. So many times we begin to see our business from our perspective. It begins to be about who we are, what we have, and how much we can sell. Instead it should be about them. What do they need? What do they want? How can we better help them? People go to Wal-Mart because they get what they need and almost always, at very good prices.

Be authentic. People want to deal with real people, not some hyped sales process. People go to Wal-Mart because they know what they’ll get. Even in Mexico, the store was basically laid out the same, although their bakery and produce sections were much better than here in the States. In your marketing, you always want to give them benefits and excite them, but you need to actually be able to deliver. Under promise and over deliver is a good rule.

Look good. Personally, I like dealing with businesses that have a professional image. If their website and marketing look terrible, I see their business as suspect, especially if they want me to buy something.

Deliver a great product. Are you in business to churn a buck or to really bring value to your customers. If they see and experience the value, they will recommend you over and over again and become raving fans.

Have a great economic engine. How do you make money? Generally, successful businesses have a great product and service and then create strong systems to deliver that product and service in stellar ways.

Is your business a destination? No matter who you are, we all like to do business with organizations and individuals that are destinations. This week, let’s all make our businesses a little better so that others seek us out, even in Mexico.

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Carl Woolston is a business and marketing consultant with KGaps Consulting, a co-creator of the proprietary marketing methodology “Hub Mentality,”, and a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership.