The more satisfied you are the more danger you are in

Because for most people, satisfaction means “things are going good, and I don’t have to change them.” And the longer you leave things unchanged, the more time you are giving the competition to catch up with or leapfrog past you.

The best friend a marketer has is the attitude that things can “always be better” and the discipline to act on that attitude. We’ve all got a lot of demands on our time. The marketing environment is more challenging than ever, and there is always a new crisis on the horizon.

In addition to these distractions, we’ve all heard “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And certainly New Coke fiasco and the Ford Edsel are stark reminders of how “improving” a product line can go wrong. [Not to mention how I’ve never forgiven Frito-Lay for making their previously excellent restaurant-style salsa so much “better” so that I had to switch to Hernandez!)

On the other hand, there are numerous examples of how complacency has led to decline. From the movie studios ignoring television to IBM’s lack of interest in home computers to Kodak and Polaroid’s reliance on film, we can all name instances where “satisfied” companies have had their lunch eaten by competitors.

So is it a case of “damned if I do and damned if I don’t”? If that was true, it would make sense to take the path of least resistance and do nothing.

But it isn’t true. If you don’t, then you can count on the competition to work like crazy to come up with a better value proposition for your customers. Some will fail, but most of us have so many competitors that the odds are in favor of one of them succeeding.

However if you do, rigorous marketing research and pilot testing can significantly lessen the chance of failure. And at least if you’re taking action, your fate is in your hands rather than the hands of your competitors.

Successful marketers (and companies) find ways to institutionalize continual improvement. They regularly schedule the time and manpower to pay careful attention to consumer wants and needs, stay up-to-date with improvements in technology, and carefully monitor competition. Finally, they make improvement a regular part of their goal-setting.
So stay dissatisfied. And when you retire, you’ll be able to look back on your career with satisfaction!