THE BUSINESS TRIBE

IS YOUR COMPANY CUSTOMER OR COMPETITOR ORIENTED?

In an interview Jeff Bezos (founder and CEO of Amazon) said that a company should focus more on its customers than its competitors, since the competitors want give the company any money. I believe he was right when he said that and Amazon is one of the most successful businesses ever, to a great deal because of its customer-orientation.

Focusing on what your competitors are doing take a lot of energy from your organization and more important, your company will become more like the rest of the competitors in your segment, an average company with average results, and If your competitors are doing nothing then you'll also end up doing nothing.

Focusing on the customers and their needs, customer behavior and market trends can make more difference than focusing on competitors. That doesn't mean that you should become uniformed about what your competitors are doing and what is happening in your market, not at all. But you need to stay informed without putting too much effort trying to figure out how to copy you competitors.

If your company is trying to take the lead in your segment and become more innovative, more customers oriented and more profitable, then you need to take a leap and shift from competitor-orientation to customer-orientation, wholeheartedly. Let's make the coming three months “the customer's months” and try to be as creative and innovative as possible and fill the gap between what you're producing and what your customers really need. You'll be amazed how much positive energy this will generate in your organization, making a positive impact on your revenues and bottom line.