The 7 deadly sins of benchmarking.
Question for you, dear snackers ??: are you absolutely certain that your benchmarking practices are propelling you toward innovation rather than dragging you into mediocrity?
If your answer is a resounding yes, great. Cheers. See you, and take care!
But if there’s even a sliver of doubt, let’s talk. At Gratia, we’ve put together some key criteria to consider because, when done poorly, benchmarking can become more of a hindrance than a help.
Let’s embrace the essence of benchmarking: ethically gathering insights about your competitors, avoiding plagiarism, and turning external inspiration into your unique point of differentiation.
But sometimes, some blunders can ruin all your efforts, so here are the seven deadly sins that kill any competitive analysis. Let’s get started.
Pride: believing that you don’t need benchmarking.
“We don’t need to look at the competition; we are unique.” “We are the category leaders; they should copy us.
Oh, well; sorry, genius!
The truth is, this mindset marks the beginning of the end.
No brand operates in a vacuum; hubris can blind you to threats or trends you could capitalize on. Kodak, Blockbuster, and hundreds of leading companies disappeared because their killer apps emerged from unimaginable places. Feeling invulnerable and exemplary without looking around is extremely dangerous.
Redemption: if you are a leader in your category, benchmarking is not a sign of weakness but of strategic intelligence. Adopt it as a tool to evolve. Open yourself to new perspectives and learn from others. Benchmark yourself against other industries or small, crazy, and agile entrepreneurs?—?they tend to grow.
Greed: keep everything to yourself.
Benchmarking within a company should not be an isolated process limited to one area but rather a multidisciplinary effort. For example, someone in Marketing will analyze the competition through that lens, while an Engineering team member will approach it from their perspective. The same applies to other disciplines, such as Pricing, Technology, Logistics, and more.
If findings are not shared across the team or translated into concrete actions that provide a holistic view, they lose their value. Hoarding information can lead to biases and critical blind spots.
Redemption: I turned benchmarking into a collective exercise, a 360 information pool (how old that sounded) to see reality with all its nuances.
Lust: to be fascinated by trends or empty novelties.
New trends are always eye-catching, but not everything trending is right for you. Getting caught up in the hype can push you toward goals that don’t align with your brand?—?or worse, weaken its impact.
Redemption: Focus on what works and generates value. Staying on top of the latest trends is essential, but don’t become obsessed with novelty. Evaluate whether a trend aligns with your business objectives before investing in it.
Wrath: obsessive comparison or abandoning the process at the first non-discovery.
On one hand, constantly comparing yourself to others can be discouraging and demoralizing; you’ll never be a replica. On the other hand, not all benchmarks yield instant results, and frustration can cause you to give up on the process too soon.
Redemption: focus on your strengths and how to improve them within your reality, possibilities, context, and type of company. On the other hand, consistency is essential because benchmarking is a long-term track of something extraordinarily dynamic and changing. You will have a much richer picture in a few months than if you had given up in the first month.
Gluttony: analyzing everything without prioritizing.
Hold on, take it easy! Are you really planning to benchmark everything? Overloading yourself with data can leave you stuck. It’s tempting to try measuring it all, but that often means losing focus on what truly matters. Mapping every direct and indirect competitor is unrealistic?—?remember, not everything is relevant, and usually, less is more.
Redemption: set clear objectives (what do you want to know, why, from whom, and how will you act on it?) and focus your analysis on the practices and metrics that truly impact your business. Everything else is secondary?—?or just noise.
Envy: obsessing about the competition (or category leaders).
Looking too much at the other side of the street can make you lose sight of your house. If you live imitating, you will never lead; worse, you will camouflage yourself with those with more budget than you. Envy can lead you to the mistake of copying tactics without adapting the context or considering whether they make sense for your brand.
Redemption: be inspired but constantly adapt, improve, and use what others have done to find something different. Ask yourself: does this reinforce my value proposition or distance me from it? Does this mimic or differentiate me?
Laziness: indolence of thought and superficial analysis.
Did you adopt a metric without truly grasping its meaning? Well done?—?you just wasted valuable time. A shallow analysis provides data but no meaningful insights. Did you recycle the same joke your competitor shared on social media? Bravo?—?you’ve just showcased a lack of originality.
Depth is everything: it’s not just about knowing what your competitor does but understanding the why, the how, and the execution behind it. Copying without reflection is like building a sandcastle right before high tide.
Redemption: think critically. Ask yourself: what can I learn from this data, and how can I connect it to my strategy? What can I do differently from my competitor? Don’t just be an imitator.
Did you recognize yourself in any of the?7?
Don’t worry. The key is to know how to redeem yourself and strengthen your being with the virtues opposite to the specific vice.
The grace is?here.
Let’s close with some thoughts so your benchmarking becomes an innovation engine.
The first mantra is DON’T IMITATE!!!
We repeat: D??O??N??’ T?? I??M??I??T??A??T??E??!!!
Is that clear? Instead of mere copying, get the point and adapt, improve, refine, or simplify?—?anything beyond an exact replica. And if you wish, you can do these four things:
All brands are looking for the same thing: to stand out above the noise. Benchmarking should always lead you to be a better version of yourself. The version your audiences choose.
Thoughts?
Thanks for reading this Gratia snack?—?now create something amazing!
IT’S ALWAYS WITH WHOM?
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