The Internet has made everyone a “price conscious consumer” as it has become so easy to compare products and services from different businesses. 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 comprehensive 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 on 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).

“Price only matters when the customer believes that your product or service is the same.”

Back to the Internet. If you’re trying to find a particular product and everyone carries it, shop by price … it’s what we’ve been trained to do. Find the cheapest price and calculate that “they are 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 to ask yourself: “Is there a reason I would buy it from one company over another?” This is the magic question that all companies should be able to answer if the answer is yes to win more business.

All other things being equal, you will choose price as your primary guide. When this happens, the product or service becomes a “commodity.” Today, the Internet has “commodified” virtually every business, regardless of whether it is a product or service business. Even professional services, such as lawyers, accountants, financial services, insurance, and many others, have become commodities. 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 looks the same, why wouldn’t you choose the lowest price? I would … and so would you.

The Magic Formula

The magic formula for any company, which 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 client will choose you is if they don’t see you as equal to your competitors and they see you as something completely different.

But when you sell a particular product (or service) that others sell, how do you distinguish yourself from the group 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 are viewed as completely different and everyone should buy from? These are the questions you need to answer if you want to “differentiate” yourself from your competition.

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

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

How to WIN … and be seen as unique.

If you are indeed capable of “COMMENTS”, 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 “comment” (or talk) about you and tell others how amazing you are. If you are the only business your customers are excited about, tell everyone else to buy, do your best to make sure others know about you and constantly buy from you, YOU WIN. It doesn’t have to be (and doesn’t want to be) the lowest price. You offer more than a price … you offer them a “helpful and trusting relationship with an experience that makes them say WOW every time they interact with you. You give them what we all want (feel like they are special) and you can even charge them more ( 89% say they will pay more for an amazing customer experience.)

You have beaten the price game.

When you become “REMARK” capable, you don’t have to worry about getting it for the lowest price. You don’t have to worry if someone dropped the price last night for the same product / service in order to steal from your customers. You don’t have to offer a lot of specials and sales that cost you more money than you earn. You don’t have to stress yourself (or your employees) with creating the latest and greatest products or services. You don’t have to play the price game. Finally, you can stop worrying about your customers trying to find the lowest price through search engines because others tell them that you are the only place in town they should shop.

When others are “doing your 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 to your business today, how would your business change? How would your profitability be? How would you look tomorrow if this happened today?

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

Now you have the answer on 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 whom you know the names, such as Zappos, Disney, Southwest Air, Ritz Carlton, as well as many that you may not have heard of but who are revolutionizing the world of their 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 price (commodity) 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 obsessing over the customer. Customer-obsessed companies become capable of “OBSERVATION” and are talked about … a lot.

What to do next …
The first step is education. Find out what it really looks like, why it works so incredibly well, and how you would go about making it happen in your business. This information is there, you just have to work a little to find it. Or, if you want to save some time, let’s have a coffee and I can speed up your search and give you information on how this could become a reality in your company. Coffee (or lunch) is in you … information and education are in me. My passion and my statute for WOM10 is simple … to help all “OBSERVATIONS” businesses be capable.

The only question that remains is: “Are you ready to obsess over the customer and become ‘REMARK’ capable?”