If you have even one competitor your customer has a choice. And whenever a customer has a choice you have to find a way to be different. If the customer doesn’t perceive you as different, they will choose based on commodity elements such as price, delivery, terms, etc. Creating this differentiation in the mind of your customers is what separates you from the other commodities in your industry. So how can you create this level of differentiation in the New Economy?
Most companies still believe they can differentiate themselves based on their products and services. Constantly battling each other to add new products or features or additional services the customer may want. But before long, their competitors are offering the same or even better products or features or services and so the competitive cycle of battling for the top spot continues.
The customer owns this cycle today…they control the strings…they are the PUPPETEERS!
Customers are in complete control and can literally dictate who wins and loses in any industry. They are the “PUPPETEERS” of businesses today…they pull all the strings to get the puppets (businesses) to do what they want in this new economy! They pull all the strings in getting what they want,when they want it, at the price they want it, and with the terms they want. They are firmly in control. Regardless of how it happened, either through mass adoption of the internet or social media, it has happened and it isn’t going to change anytime soon.
So how can you WIN in this new “Customer Economy”?
Many of the largest and most prestigious research and consulting firms (McKinsey, Gartner, Forrester, Accenture, and others) have already given us the answer…it just happens to be the same answer we uncovered when we wrote our book a dozen years ago…it’s all about the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
This is the answer to how to rise above your competitors.
This is the answer to how you can differentiate from your competitors.
This is the answer for how to cut the puppeteer strings and be your own person/business.
This is the answer to stronger profits and greater margins.
This is the answer with how you can truly GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY WANT.
You don’t have to look very far at most organizations to see this isn’t happening…they are still focused around their products and services. At the center of their organization is their product(s) or service(s) they offer…and they continually invest in trying to make them better and of greater value. There is nothing wrong with doing this…but it doesn’t carry the “long tail” of differentiation. It used to when we lived in the Industrial Revolution. You could change a product and it would last a while before a competitor “one-upped” you and came out with a better mouse trap.
Today, we have global competition and we have companies entering markets faster and more efficiently than at any point in history. Today, the barrier to entry is virtually gone. Someone can enter a market in a second and take away your competitive advantage. We see it and buy from these companies every day…Uber, Airbnb, LegalZoom, Tesla, etc. This is only going to continue…and at an accelerated rate now that we know how well it works and there is a track record of monumental success.
Some companies (the minority) have figured this out…they have built their company around the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. They have become CUSTOMER OBSESSED businesses…they are all about their customers and give them an incredibly amazing and remarkably awesome experience. They are the leaders in their industries (Disney, Zappos, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Virgin, JetBlue, etc.) and have completely built their organizations around delivering an experience that blows away their competition.
They have cut the strings to the PUPPETEERS and are controlling their own destiny.
This is an OPPORTUNITY…for EVERY COMPANY…for YOUR COMPANY. A recent survey confirmed this as a “green field” of opportunity…waiting to be seized. They found that 80% of the leadership in businesses said they were delivering a great or awesome experience to their customers. When their customers were asked, only 8%…that’s right, only 8% of their customers said they felt the experience was either great or awesome. How can leadership miss this number by 90%? The fact that there is such a disconnect opens up a huge door of opportunity for you and your business.
This is an incredible opportunity…to be the company in your industry that leaps ahead of your competitors. You have the answer in front of you…the “gauntlet” is down. Will you pick it up and put it on? Will you finally decide that you want to create a “long tail” of differentiation for your own business? Will you decide in favor of “Obsessing” over your customers rather than your products or services? Will you seize the additional margins that Customer Obsessed companies enjoy?
Your answer to these questions will determine whether you continue to be the Puppet who is controlled or whether you will become the Puppeteer and be in control of your business. The opportunity is staring almost every business in the face. What a great time to be a business owner when you have the answer to what will create a REMARKABLE BUSINESS!!
As usual, if you ever have a question or would like to know more about how this works or how this can happen in your organization, let’s grab some coffee and I can share with you the “roadmap” these successful Customer Obsessed companies are following.
