Don’t fall into the comparison trap, it’s not good for business – unless it’s done right by CEOs, among others, looking to make moves to stealthily supersede the competition.
Cornell Batie, C-Suite executive of Southfield-based consultant business, Banks & Company LLC, agrees and said that comparing companies is not a bad idea – if done in moderation.
“Inspiration and motivation can come from a variety of sources,” he said recently. “While I wouldn’t get fixated on similar companies if a leader finds something that’s relevant and useful from a similar company it should be considered.”
He’s got a point. In a recent Forbes article, looking to see whose grass is greener in the business world is not an ideal strategy in playing C-Suite politics, but it’s not a bad idea to peek at what other companies are doing to win big overall.
The article details tips from a book, I’LL BE BACK: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again, shed light on rallying the troops in the company – including leaders, among other employees – and encouraging them to meet and break down in two meetings how to better their business model. According to the article, the first meeting covers three sets of steps; the second meeting goes over the remaining steps.
The first meeting covers:
1. Why should people do business with the company? What makes the company stand out and how do they differ from the competition?
2. Look at the competition. View a list of your direct company competitors and ask: “What are we doing that they don’t?” Then ask, “What are they doing that we don’t?”
3. Keep Up. As a leader, if you notice that the competition is winning in other areas you might not be, don’t copy and paste – rather make some of their winning ideas your own for your company, but expound on them further to help your company flourish.
The second meeting covers:
4. Go outside of your industry. In the second meeting, bring back the same group of employees together and ask a new set of questions: “What companies, not including the competitors, do you like doing business with the most, and why?” The article adds to take notes for the discussion, which is in preparation for the next step.
5. Compare and “borrow from the best.” With the Step Four list, take note of what your company is already doing well. Find out how you stack up to these companies. Then see what your company is not doing – maybe add those elements to your company and boost customer experience to outshine the competition.
6. Then after gaining steam with these questions and company-building tactics, the article encourages you to go back to Step One, “Why should people do business with us?” Gather answers that feel good to you and your colleagues and build from there.
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