I was recently flying one of Richard Bransons virginblue.com.au flights and was reading their voyeur magazine. In it was a section called “Branson’s Business School” which included many tips from his success stories. I thought that one of the stories was particularly interesting and I’d like to share it with you:
LESSON: OFFER CUSTOMERS A BETTER EXPERIENCE.
“Why did Virgin Cola fail?
Because the brand didn’t offer anything that was fundamentally different from what was offered by Coca-Cola. Why are Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Blue a success? Because they offer travellers a different, more stylish, lively and overall more enjoyable experience in the air. Every single one of the 12 American carriers that Virgin Atlantic was competing against has since disappeared because they didn’t think of the customer first.
In order to differentiate itself, a business must first find its voice. By using its unique voice a small organisation has the ability to punch far above its weight. In launching Virgin Atlantic, Branson took on some off the world’s biggest airlines and won.
Virgin has an attitude and a voice. Big companies can often be impersonal and lack character. They’re slow to make changes, and their staff are rarely passionate about their jobs, often finding it impossible to have their ideas heard, much less acted on. Offer a better experience to staff and to customers and you’re halfway to winning “
The rest of the articles can be seen in their November 2009 issue.
I love that simple statement. Virgin Cola failed because they didn’t offer anything that was fundamentally different to what was offered by Coca-Cola.
This is why BookCentralCoast.com.au is following the Branson edict – with our own points of difference including:
Instant Payment to Accommodation providers. They receive their money immediately. No waiting until after the guest has checked out or for the 30 to 60 days that some accommodation booking websites see as acceptable.
We send free instant SMS and email notification of booking enquiries to accommodation owners which they can accept or decline by SMS or email, whichever is easier for them.
We ensure secure full payment through PayPal. Maybe not a huge point of difference from some sites but a world away from others.
We provide last minute marketing of specials (such as on our front page feature) meaning that accommodation providers can promote their specials – or their suddenly available space in the event of a last minute cancellation.
It is all very good to have your accommodation listed with the ‘big boys’ and I’m not saying that it is not a good idea to do that as well but when it comes to serving our customers, we all like to be treated as someone special – a fact that gets lost in many big companies.
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