Your Product Or Service Isn’t The Point

I mean, people are buying things they need, but hopefully that’s not all you have on offer.

Otherwise, you run the real risk of being commoditized.

• It could be a sense of significance being bought; the feeling of accomplishing something worthwhile.
• Or protection; the feeling that they’re being well looked after as a result of making this investment.
• Or advocacy; buying not only from need but as an expression of a shared belief.
• Or momentum; the belief that this action will propel them forward in their pursuits.
• Or time; either to be able to spend it where they love spending it, or to be free from spending it where they’d rather not.
• Perhaps offering a high-touch concierge experience in an industry full of low-touch do-it-yourself experiences.
• Or the ability to go on a journey; a process they’ve never been through before in a market that never shows how the secret-sauce is made.
• Or the offer of accountability; buying while knowing you’ll be personally assured of progress regardless of your willpower or distractions.
• Perhaps it could be novelty on offer; the ability to engage in a service in a way never offered before that makes it stand out and noteworthy.

Whatever meaningful work you produce and whatever you sell, the product or service isn’t the point. Are you taking people where they want to go? Will it be the ride of their lives, one they’ll tell others about?