ENVY by definition means you are chasing something…wanting to be like something else. This has become a mainstay in businesses today… “We want to be like ABC Company only better.” When you can stop this thinking and action, you can put yourself on a path to real success that others will envy!
Copying someone else means you think they are either better or have something you don’t have…and you want to be just like them in a particular area. But copying someone also means COMMODITIZATION…regardless of your products or services. Becoming a commodity says you do the same things as your competition…only you try to do it faster, cheaper, or somewhat better. In today’s Internet Economy, more and more companies are being commoditized and trying to “one up” each other to move to the top of the heap.
I believe this is a LOSERS GAME.
It’s one you can’t win…at least not easily…and everyone else is playing it as well which makes it even more difficult to win. And even if you can win it for a moment, there is someone waiting in the wings to enter the market with lower cost structure and lower prices or better services to take this spot away from you. It’s an expensive, stressful, and low rewarding game in business today.
There is an alternative…forget about ENVYING YOUR COMPETITION and DO SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT from them.
The one thing that has been proven over and over to be incredibly difficulty to beat out is an INCREDIBLY REMARKABLE AND MEMBORABLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. This can’t be commoditized because YOU OWN IT in your own special way. Someone else can have an awesome experience as well but it is unique to them. It doesn’t compete on price or terms or delivery or any other commodity element. It is UNIQUE TO YOU!
And when you create something that your CUSTOMERS ABSOLUTELY LOVE you win. They come back and they tell all their friends about you and become your ADVOCATES. This is how you win big without envying your competition. Create your own “wonderfulness” and deliver this to your customers in everything you do…through every employee…with passion.
THIS CAN’T BE COPIED…BUT CAN BE ENVIED.
This is the path to INDIVIDUALISM as a BRAND and something you own…no one else. It is something that sets you apart and gets people TALKING ABOUT YOU instead of your competition. No longer will people say, “Oh, they are just like so and so only they offer a little better price or a few more features, or something else.” NO, now they say, “They are unlike anyone else in the market I have experienced and I love working with them because they are completely different and really care about my experience and how I feel.”
This is the game changer and what sets you apart from the “Envy Game” that is difficult, if not impossible to win. Become the one that is envied…not the one that envies other businesses. This will set yourself apart from everyone in your industry. This is how you win today in a very crowded, noisy, and highly commoditized world.
If you want to learn more about what this looks like and how some of the best companies in the world do this, shoot me a message and I can share some more things with you to think about in your quest for uniqueness and non-envy!
