Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I do a lot of competitive analysis for clients. And, often, the biggest competition isn’t another company – it’s the customers. More specifically:

- Their aversion to change
- Switching costs (There are always some costs – of time and/or money. “Plug and play” really means it’ll work out of the box IF you know what you’re doing.)
- Fear of job loss (What if it screws something up???)
- Demands on their time by other tasks
…and sheer inertia.

I was reminded of this the other day when talking to a client’s customer. They wanted the product; they have the product; they love the capabilities…they have yet to implement it, due to workload.

So, certainly – be aware of your competition (both real and perceived) but know your customers first. What makes it worth their while to do biz with you? Ater all, they’re the one who pay your bills, not your competitors.