On the surface of it, the all-you-can-eat buffet seems like a generous bargain. Why is it then that we walk away having had our fill without feeling satisfied? The truth is we know that far from being generous the offer of ‘more’ is a tactic to get the most people through the door. We understand the restaurant owner is hoping we come with small appetites and leave early.

Contrast the all-you-can-eat experience with that of the performer who must somehow find a way to deliver value to a stadium of 75,000 fans, most of whom she can’t reach or look in the eye. Singing one more song at the end of her set is unlikely to create the connection she hopes to make with each person. Her only option is to find ways to go deeper.

So she shares intimate stories of her journey from support act to superstar. She acknowledges the unique attributes of the city she’s performing in. She displays unpublished images from her childhood on the big screen. And she makes tiny handwritten love notes that are photocopied and turned into a mid-performance shower of confetti—souvenirs for her fans to keep.

We mistakenly believe that value creation is about delivering more for less when in many cases what delights our customers is more of less.

How can you give more by going deeper?

Image by Jackson Lavarnway.