I was recently on a flight heading to Phoenix, where the final four will be hosted this year, and I engaged into a thought-provoking conversation about the upcoming March basketball tournament. We discussed how crazy it gets during the month of March when filling out office brackets and trying to predict the upsets of the tourney. Offices are buzzing with excitement, client lunch meetings run long, and happy hours with both clients and friends fill the calendar. All of this is in anticipation of bragging rights and a little cash for guessing the winner out sixty-four teams.
I am a major sports fan, and each year I go through the bracket looking to see which team will dominate the tournament. I look to predict which teams will rise to the occasion, and which teams will fall short due to overconfidence or a lack of preparation. The winning teams tend to focus on the now and know their competitor’s weaknesses so they can exploit them.
I started to think about what it takes for companies to dominate their competitors. The core strategy behind any company that dominates their competition and creates customer loyalty is to anticipate and meet their customers’ needs in a way that no one else does. Your competition may offer a product or service. They are commodities, but you are unique. You have differentiated your business by helping your customers solve their specific problems in bold ways.
This is the key to making sure no one else in your industry comes close. It’s not just about being different, it’s about providing so much value that your customers tell others about you – with enthusiasm and excitement.
Here are four keys to keeping your customers and dominating your competitors.
1. DELIVER MORE THAN YOU PROMISE
You will always need to promote your product or service, but as you convert your prospects into customers, give more value than they expect. Surprise and delight them with added value, and they will reciprocate by sharing stories of your terrific service with their friends and contacts—who are then primed to become your next customers.
2. MOVE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO A BETTER PLACE
Meeting minimum requirements is one way to run your business, and it’s a sure route to failure. Everyone must be committed to doing whatever it takes, to make sure your customers are your biggest fans. What companies come to mind when you think of those that move you? Nordstrom, Amazon, and Apple all inspire lifetime loyalty. You must create a structure and a system that allows you to consistently meet and exceed your customers’ needs.
3. REWARD YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS
Remember, the most expensive thing you can do as a business is to acquire a new customer. It requires most of your time, energy, and money, and it is one of the hardest things to do. Therefore, the easiest way to make additional money is to continue to better serve the customers you already have. They get your best offers and undivided attention to ensure that you don’t lose them to low priced competitors.
4. CONTINUALLY ASK THEM WHAT THEY WANT
Innovation is essential today. Your business must continue to evolve to effectively meet your customers’ needs in unique and powerful ways. If it doesn’t, then you can be certain that someone else will rise to that challenge. So how will you evolve? Ask your customers. What is the biggest challenge they are facing? Why is it important that they find a solution? And then figure out how to help them, in ways that they can’t help but to share with others.
“The biggest mistake organizations make is that they fall in love with their business or products and not with their clients.” —Tony Robbins