I was able to attend the Chamber of Commerce lunch in Nelson the other week where Christopher Luxon, CEO of Air NZ was speaking.
I was fascinated by some of his comments around how Air NZ look to drive success in the smaller regions and further more how they make the choice to sponsor which events. His reasoning was this:
You need to be clear on the region’s WHY, its core purpose and what it offers. When they know what the region is trying to be known for (its message) and who it is trying to target (its markets) then he was able to see clearly what would work for Air NZ taking into account its own WHY and brand ethos.
Big cities like Auckland are known for providing a hub that supports employment. It is large, sprawled out almost like an octopus with many tentacles kind of attached but not really. It has created many micro markets mainly built from frustration with limited infrastructure. It is however, the City of Sails with good employment opportunities and it works. It is one of the top places to live world wide.
If your business WHY is not in alignment with the market’s purpose then it is going to be more difficult to make it work. Similarly, if the region is unsure of its WHY and what it is known for then the same will happen. For example if I owned a cycle store in Nelson, I would change my message to being an ‘adventure store’ offering a whole range of winter and summer sports from mountain biking, kite surfing, kayaking and skiing. I would offer day tours, lessons, gear hire, sales and repairs. All year around. Think of it as an adventure store. Whatever you wanted to try, you could. The value add is that you can then sell your message off shore whatever the budget and you would be flat tack all year round. If I owned a food cafe, I would partner with the Adventure store and provide fresh, healthy food packages for all the tours.
It’s all about changing the paradigm. Think outside the square. AND make it easy for the tourists. Solve their problems. And solve the airline’s problems. Take this to Christopher Luxon and get him to sell the messages to the wider markets offshore.
If you want to transition your business into something that’s bigger and better, then check out our business coaching programmes on offer. For those of you living locally in Nelson, I am running a business building workshop for the Chamber of Commerce on 10th November with the core focus on Building your WHY.
Rebecca
