Who do you want to be compared with
Before the internet era, if you were going to be compared with someone, it would always be your competition. Today, things have changed and Google is likely to suggest Reddit posts, magic pills, and amateurs as “alternative ways to solve the same problem”.
Viewing your competition as “others in my industry” or “people who do what I do” leads to a special kind of myopia. Namely, mixing up your “industry” with your “market” shows you a skewed picture of your competition while skipping many viable alternatives. For example, both BMW and KIA make cars and Read more…
The default buying behavior of humans is comparing alternatives. That means whatever you offer, it’s going to be compared to competitors. But what if you really believe that there are no competitors you could be fairly compared with? Does that mean that you actually have no competitors, that you are effectively Read more…
Throughout history, selling expertise of any kind was usually local. That also meant that competition was fairly easy to identify and keep an eye on. The post system and the Yellow Pages expanded the range somewhat but still kept it somewhat manageable. From the neolithic times until the third industrial Read more…
Historically, service value communication had a very limited range but was a fairly simple affair. If you sell ice cream or draw henna tattoos on a local beach, you still live in that world, but most industries moved on. Fairly recently, people decided to contact you after pricking you out from an Read more…