Is your client customer-focused or obsessed with and idolizing the competitor?
Here are seven clues / telltale signs I look for when working with business owners, executives, and founders.
1. Market Leader Talk
Listen for: "We need to be the best in the market" or "Our goal is to beat Company X."
Instead of: "We want to provide the best value for our customers."
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2. Benchmarking Approach
Red flag: "How do we stack up against our top competitors?"
Green flag: "How do we compare to customer expectations in our industry?"
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3. Key Metrics Focus
Competitor-focused: "We aim to increase our market share by X%."
Customer-obsessed: "We're working to improve our Net Promoter Score and Customer Lifetime Value."
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4. Reaction to Competitor Moves
Warning sign: "Company Y just launched a new feature; we need to match it."
Good sign: "Let's anticipate what our customers will need next."
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5. Feature Priorities
Problematic: "We need to offer everything our competitors do and more."
Promising: "Our latest features are based on extensive customer feedback."
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6. Unique Selling Proposition
Competitor-fixated: "We're better than Company Z at X."
Customer-centric: "We solve problem X for our customers better than anyone else."
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7. Strategy Discussion Focus
Red flag: Conversations that continually circle back to "But what about our competitors?"
Green flag: Discussions that start and end with "How does this impact our customers?"
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Here is how to spot true customer obsession:
1. They say: "We're striving to be the best solution for [specific customer segment]."
2. Listen for: "According to industry-wide customer satisfaction data..."
3. They prioritize: "Our NPS has increased by X, and our average Customer Lifetime Value is now Y."
4. They ask: "What emerging customer needs should we prepare for?"
5. You hear: "Based on our latest customer surveys, we're developing..."
6. Their pitch includes: "Our customers tell us we're unique because we solve X problem in Y way."
7. In meetings, they consistently ask: "How will this decision affect our customers?"
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Key words to listen for:
Customer-obsessed: feedback, satisfaction, needs, value, solve, experience
Competitor-fixated: market share, industry ranking, match, outperform, beat, better than
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Final thoughts:
In the grand theatre of business, it's easy to mistake the spotlight for the audience. Many companies claim to be writing love letters to their customers, but upon closer inspection, they're actually penning obsessive fan mail to their competitors.
Remember, business isn't about winning a popularity contest among peers – it's about winning customers' hearts (and wallets). After all, the customer isn't just always right – they're the whole reason we exist in the first place.
— #yourthinkingpartner #thestrategyguy
