You Can Ignore Your Competitors, But Don’t Ignore Their Customers

When I was building Appbot to track my own app reviews I never imagined that a few years later many thousands of apps would be using it, nor that the customers would teach me so much.

Much has been written about wether or not you should worry about your competitors or completely ignore them. A quick Google search brings ups many opinions one way or the other. Every business has its own strategy with regard to this and of course it’s your call.

It’s also widely accepted that watching and listening to your customers is critical to building a product that people want. Many of us who are working to create products and services people love in order to build sustainable businesses, spend a lot of time and money getting feedback from potential customers.

When we do it right listening to our customers helps us to find our difference. It’s a lot easier to refine your product to more closely align with what customers want if you know what they want. And it’s a lot easier to fill the gaps that your competitors are leaving wide open by listening to their customers.

The Internet has given us all this golden opportunity to listen. Your customers are showing and telling you what they want and your competitor’s customers are showing and telling you how to be better by leaving reviews.

So why not start listening to your potential customers? Chances are your competitors aren’t.

Stuart is Founder / Chief Bot @ Appbot and blogs at stuartkhall.com.