The Internet has turned everyone into “price-conscious consumers” as it has become so easy to compare products and services from different companies. Before the Internet, it was much more difficult, if not impossible in some cases, to compare one product or service with another without much effort. Now, in a matter of minutes and a few clicks, we can make extensive comparisons of products, services, features, and of course, price. The playing field has been leveled.

Does this mean that you can only win if you compete in Price? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

There are two ways to win this game. Any business can do it… this is not reserved for the consumer side, it is equally (if not more) effective for businesses that are B2B (business to business).

“The price only matters when the customer considers that your product or service is the same.”

Back to the Internet. If you’re trying to find a particular product and everyone has it, buy by price…it’s what we’ve been trained to do now. You find the cheapest price and realize “they’re all the same”, so why does it matter? However, there is one more level of consideration in this rule. The next (and most important) question you’ll ask is, “Is there a reason I’d buy from one company over another?” This is the magic question that every company should be able to answer if it is affirmative in order to win more business.

All things being equal, you will choose price as your primary guide. When this happens, the product or service has become a “commodity.” The Internet has “commoditized” virtually every business today, regardless of whether it is a product or service business. Even professional services, such as lawyers, accountants, financial services, insurance, and many others, have been commodified. They have many competitors that compete with them on price. Companies LegalZoom, TurboTax, QuickBooks, etc. all have taken billions of dollars from these professions. As long as everything seems to be the same, why wouldn’t you go for the lowest price? Me… and you too.

the magic formula

The magic formula for any business that does not want to play this game with the customer is to make the customer not consider it the same as its competitors. Let me say this in a slightly different way to make sure this resonates. The only reason your customer will choose you is if they don’t see you as equal to your competitors and see you as something completely different.

But when you’re selling a particular product (or service) that others are selling, how do you set yourself apart from the pack of competitors? How do you stand out when the internet tells everyone that price is the only thing that matters? How do you build a business where you can sell pretty much the same product or service as your competitors, but be seen as something completely different and something everyone should buy from? These are the questions you must answer if you want to be “differentiated” from your competition.

Today, there is not much we can do to make the products or even the services you offer significantly different from those of your competitors. Unless you are creating products or services that have not been created before (this is very difficult and difficult to sustain) like Elon Musk did with Tesla (at least for now), the customer sees them as equals. It is almost impossible to create and sustain the development of innovative new products/services without large amounts of cash and time. For the sake of argument, let’s say you can’t really create new, never created, new products/services for your business on a consistent basis (very few can). If this is the case, what else can you do to avoid being “seen as an equal”, seen as a “commodity” alongside your competitors? There is a better (and easier) answer to this dilemma.

Surprise your customers with the way you treat them and show them that they are the center of your universe! Become “OBSERVATION” capable.

How to WIN… and be seen as unique.

If you are actually able to “REVIEW”, it means that your customers are talking about you with their friends and colleagues… they are not talking about your competitors. They go out of their way to “watch” (or talk about) you and tell others how incredibly awesome you are. If you are the only business your customers rave about, tell everyone else to buy, do whatever you can to make sure others know about you and buy from you consistently, YOU WIN. You don’t have to be (and don’t want to be) the lowest price. You offer more than price… you offer them a “reliable and useful relationship with an experience that makes them say WOW every time they interact with you. You give them what we all want (feel that they are special) and you can even charge them more (the 89 % say they will pay more for an amazing customer experience).

You have beaten the price game.

When you become able to “LOOK,” you don’t have to worry about being chased for the lowest price. You don’t have to worry if someone lowered the price last night on the same product/service in order to rip off your customers. You don’t have to offer lots of specials and sales that cost you more money than you make. You don’t have to stress yourself (and your employees) by creating the latest and greatest products or services. You don’t have to play the price game. You can finally stop worrying about your customers trying to find the lowest price through search engines because others tell them you’re the only place in town where they should shop.

When others “do marketing for you,” your customers come to you because you treat them better than anyone else in your industry and they trust you completely. If this happened for your business today, how would your business change? How would your profitability be? How would you look tomorrow if this happened today?

Being OBSESSED WITH THE CUSTOMER is what leads you to be able to “OBSERVE”. It simply means that you are “fully engaged” in finding ways to make your customer’s experience unbelievably amazing while helping improve their life and/or their business. You are building trust with each and every interaction with all of your employees. You have changed the culture (or the DNA as I call it) of your business.

Now you have the answer to how you can avoid participating in the world of commodities created by the Internet.

I know this sounds too good to be true, but it happens every day with hundreds of companies. Many of which you know the names, like Zappos, Disney, Southwest Air, Ritz Carlton, as well as many you haven’t heard of but are rocking the world of your customers. It can happen… it is happening. The only question for you as a business leader is whether or not you want to participate in this world where you can stop playing the (commodity) price game over and over again. You know what that game looks like…maybe it’s time to consider playing a different game for your business and move on to being customer obsessed. Customer-obsessed companies become able to “FEEDBACK” and are talked about… a lot.

What to do next…
The first step is education. Learn what this really looks like, why it works so amazingly well, and how you would make this a reality for your business. This information is out there, it just takes a bit of work to find it. Or, if you’d like to save some time, let’s have a coffee and I can speed up your search and give you insight into how this could become a reality at your company. Coffee (or lunch) is on you…information and education on me. My passion and principles for WOM10 are simple… to help all companies “WATCH”.

The only question that remains is: “Are you ready to be obsessed with the client and become able to “OBSERVE”?”