BEST PRACTICES ARE THE ENEMY
Supply outweighs demand. This is the new reality. This is why best practices have become the enemy of any successful brand.
Following best practices in your product, service, marketing communications and overall experience simply achieves one result: commoditization.
Once you become a commodity you leave yourself with a single competitive advantage: price.
Price is a dangerous thing to compete on. Even WalMart has learned that price alone is not enough.
Industries obsessed with best practices have actively commoditized themselves. Just look at the airline industry.
The brands who are successful today are not following best practices, instead they are setting them.
They’ve understood the relationships they want to have, the systems of value they are trying to create and have worked hard to provide unique value in these areas.
Amazon, Uniqlo, Apple, Starbucks, Virgin America. All brands which have created new best practices for others to follow.
It may not be everyone’s place to be a leader, but if your industry is one in which supply outweighs demand then you simply have no other choice.
The challenge is that the consultancies and agencies who service these industries thrive on the dissemination of best practices. Identifying them and aiding clients in delivering on them is easier and much more profitable than helping clients create something completely new. A situation that is undoubtedly better for the adviser than the advisee.
So the next time someone recommends an industry review of best practices, consider focusing less time and attention on what others are doing already and instead on what you could be doing uniquely.
(Paul Worthington)
