“I don’t know any business or organization that doesn’t need to know more about their competition,” says author Chris Clarke-Epstein. That question, he suggests, should be followed up with, “How and when have we made it hard for you to do business with us?”
“It seems to me that asking your customers about your competition is an obvious place to start learning. Your view of your competition is inherently biased. Having a positive mental image of your organization is good as long as it is tested against your customers’ opinions on a regular basis.”
Clarke-Epstein says the only way to understand how your systems and processes feel is to ask a customer. But what if you find out your competitor is doing a good job or you have processes in place that your customers dislike? The scarier question is what if you don’t find that out?
