Do We Deliver Freedom to Our Customers or a Capability or Both?

I was asked recently by a friend of mine, who also happens to be business consultant, if ours is a freedom sale or a capability sale. A freedom sale allows the customer to gain freedom from the supplier by having them do something faster, better, and cheaper.  The capability sale brings a unique solution to a problem many customers have.

 

Your travelers and our agents would probably answer a freedom sale as we deliver a better trip faster, better, and cheaper than the traveler could deliver on their own. Your Travel Managers and our Account Managers would respond that it’s a capability sale because we are helping to create and manage a travel procurement system that the company neither has the expertise, data, personnel or time to do completely on their own. So the freedom sale is transactional (trip management) and the capability sale is the part that we do that is strategic (systems development or travel management) for Travel and Expense.

What about both? What we know is that when both are leveraged together well, the results are exponential – and it is exciting.  The right system is developed based on the right best practices, tools, and company culture, and as a result the transactions come out better because both the company and the traveler are as happy as possible.  So the key here is to make sure you are leveraging your TMC’s support on the freedom sale side (trips) and the capability side (travel). What we often find is that because travel management systems and processes are so unknown to so many, that the focus is usually solely on trip management.

Our focus for years has been on the development of a healthy travel management ecosystem that balances the desires of the company and its travelers. Guidance, training, education and evolution are at the core of the travel leadership consulting we intend to deliver to those who seek this capability. A great example of this is one of our customers who saved $250,000 out of its 1.5 million dollar travel budget and gained control and support in the process. Got freedom and capability?