Chapter 1 – A Brave New Market

Know your Business Model

Make sure you understand what you’re selling, where, and to whom. Know who your competition is and, as importantly, where you don’t want to compete. Then be disciplined about it. Make sure you have absolute clarity on this as it will be tested, and you may be asked to make adjustments that conflict with how your brand does business.

Differentiate your value proposition

What is it about what you sell—and even where you sell it—that makes it different from your competition?

Hint:
It’s not price. If you think your key differentiator is price, then you’re a commodity, but being the cheapest isn’t sustainable. At some point, someone else will come up with a more affordable product than yours and you’ll find yourself in a race to the bottom—a race you don’t want to win.

Know what you’re selling

The customer experience (CX) is one of the last remaining opportunities for a brand to differentiate itself in a competitive environment. It’s the mechanism that can deliver a truly differentiated value proposition.

Your CX is why customers will talk about the brand to their friends, go out of their way to choose your brand over others, and keep coming back time and again.