Many businesses fall short of satisfying customers because they lose sight of what business they are in. Or, perhaps, they were ever clear about that in the first place.  

Does this seem improbable? In focusing on the work of delivering the product or service it provides, it is easy for a business to lose site of the fundamental things the customers seek. A restaurant may provide above average food, but if it forgets it is in the business of providing a dining experience, it risks losing business. A resort hotel must remember it is providing a critical element in a total vacation experience, not just a pleasing place to stay. A car repair shop is not about the mechanical work. It is restoring an important convenience, safety, and status item to the consumer. 

This shift in vision is a key to delighting customers. Understand and satisfy their fundamental needs and provide a quality service or product, and you will have customers returning and telling others about your outstanding satisfaction of their needs. 

Consider this story. Several years ago, I was flying from Key West to Newark. That required flying in a puddle-jumper from Key West to Fort Lauderdale, and a change to a wide-body jet there for the flight to Newark. As we approached Miami, just a few miles from Fort Lauderdale, we were diverted to the Miami airport because a storm had closed Fort Lauderdale. 

When we got to the terminal in Miami, all the passengers on the airplane expressed concern over catching their connecting flights in Fort Lauderdale. No problem, we were assured. Nothing was going in or out of Lauderdale. When it reopened, we would fly to Lauderdale in time to make our connection. 

Shortly, the storm moved over Miami, closing the airport. At the same time, it cleared out of Fort Lauderdale and that airport reopened. Now we were really concerned. Some of us asked the gate agent what she was going to do about getting us to Lauderdale. Nothing she could do, she explained. “Our airplanes aren't flying.” 

I asked her, “What business are you in?” “We're an airline. Our airplanes can’t fly in this storm. There's nothing we can do.” 

Next, I asked to speak with a supervisor. When the supervisor arrived, the gate agent explained the situation. The supervisor than walked up to me and asked how he could be of help. I asked him what business he was in. He looked puzzled for a moment and then broke into a smile. "We're in the transportation business, sir. And we have a crew bus leaving for Fort Lauderdale in a few minutes. Let me see if I can get you on it." He radioed and found there was space on the bus for all of us. 

We made our flight, because the supervisor understood what business he was in. His airline’s customers, we passengers were seeking convenient, safe transportation between our travel points. His airline was providing a tool for accomplishing that. 

Look at UPS. They recognize that their brown trucks are just a part of the link between a business customer producing a product and it getting into the hands of the customer. They have expanded into warehousing and order fulfillment, and have just purchased Mailboxes Inc. Their customers expect them to be something more than a package delivery business. 

A final example; the railroad industry. As other means of moving freight or transporting passengers, railroads, which are thriving in other countries declined. Why? The railroads thought that they were in the railroad business, not the freight expediting or passenger convenience business. As a result they saw no flexibility for adopting new technologies, exploring new partnerships, or creating logical extensions of their basic services in order to fend off the effect of motor-freight, air freight, air travel, and the automobile. 

What business are you in?