In this month’s edition of the Marketing Masterclass, we explore why small businesses should focus on their customers and not the competition if they want to be successful.

One of the biggest challenges of running a business is the competition. Businesses need to earn a share of the market to make profits. That is why, most businesses tend to get preoccupied with what their competitors are doing instead of their customers. This can prove counterproductive.

In fact, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has been quoted as saying, “We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with what the customer needs and we work backwards.” For him focusing on the customer is what makes a company resilient.

Let’s look at how Amazon has put this in practice.

Amazon was founded with a vision for an online bookstore that would sell more than just books. The company has since grown exponentially and made an incredible impact on the retail industry. In the early 2000s though, it was a company struggling to stay afloat.

Amazon was competing in a crowded marketplace with other online retailers, and they had to work hard to keep up with the competition. Since they didn’t have the resources to compete on price, Jeff Bezos focused on creating a customer experience that was hard to match: they offered free shipping on almost everything and guaranteed that you would get your order within two days-even if it meant sending workers out at night to deliver packages.

The idea of free shipping was unheard of then, but it worked; people loved the service so much that they would order from Amazon even if other retailers’ prices were lower.

As Amazon scaled, it was able to negotiate lower prices from its suppliers. But as its costs decreased, it continued offering free shipping on most items-and still does.

Once Amazon became focused on creating a positive customer experience, they experienced exponential growth.  Today, most of its success can be attributed to the following factors:

First, Amazon has excelled at delivering value to customers at every step in their shopping journey-from search results to the checkout experience to product reviews.

Secondly, they have created a great user experience on their website and app-that makes it easy for customers to purchase items quickly and easily with one-click shopping using any device (smartphone or tablet).

Thirdly, they invested heavily in artificial intelligence and created an ecosystem where consumers can find almost anything even if they don’t know exactly what they’re looking for and also compare prices.

Next, they offer free shipping for all Prime members, no matter how large the order is or where it’s coming from.

Finally, they also offer excellent customer service via telephone or email and a highly developed logistics system.

In 2022, Amazon has reached a point of dominance in the retail space that is rarely seen with annual revenues of $470B in 2021 and their success has changed the way people shop worldwide. (To be continued)