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 We start our series of Conversations with Leaders by sharing a few highlights of our talk with Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso:
- “There’s a difference between claiming to be in the relationship business, versus building a business around relationships that people are willing to pay for. Meaning, they’re actually willing to compensate you for the value of the relationship.”
- The most important product that we’re going to sell is the unique process by which our travel advisors interact with their clients. Put another way, the unique process by which they interact with their clients is the product. What is consumed by the customer beyond that process is secondary because what you want is for the client to actually value the unique process of how we interact with them.
- The process is that I should be able to say to you, “If you come to me, I have a process I call such and such. And it’s actually important to name that process so that it’s a marketable entity. And then, I will tell you very clearly what you will get at the end of that process. And that deliverable, by the way, needs to have a very specific emotional outcome. I feel heard, I feel confident, I feel excited, I feel inspired.”
We will return to our Upchurch conversation, and others, after the
Holidays—but I want to highlight just one more element from the
Virtuoso conversation in Cannes: An October 2008 press announcement
which began with:
INVESTING TIME WISELY INCREASES YOUR ‘RETURN ON LIFE™’
….and moved on describe a new consumer campaign, ‘Return on Life™’ (ROL),
celebrating the idea that “today a rich life is not measured by
personal possessions, but by time well-spent with loved ones on
journeys to new destinations and the memories created by these
experiences.” The campaign reflects a shift in consumer motivation and
expectations regarding travel. Consumers are still collecting life experiences, most notably in the way of travel, even as their appetite for acquiring luxury goods slows.
(The power of the travel experience as the ‘new collectible’ has
been a major theme in Luxury Travel 360 content, and we applaud
Virtuoso’s effort to capture its essence in the trademark “Return on
Life”.
Whether that phrase captures the public’s imagination or not, the
concept - coupled with the demanding client relationship process that
Virtuoso’s CEO urges upon all travel marketers - has to be front and
center for all.) Hershel Sarbin, Editor and Publisher
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Issues & Insights 
