Entrepreneurs: Being best is not enough

Many entrepreneurs (and large companies, too) suffer from the idea that if they just do something better than the competition, the universe will unfold as it should and radiant beams from heaven will shine on them. Associate Professor of Marketing Doug Olsen provides his readers with the reality of expectations as an entrepreneur.

By Doug Olsen  |  Associate Professor of Marketing

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door." This seemingly good advice is fundamentally flawed. Here's the catch: Better mousetraps do not always win the day. Sometimes there are no mice, sometimes it is a five-year process to get government approval, sometimes the potential market already has invested in adequate devices and they see no real need to spend more money. Other possibilities exist.

As obvious as the above may seem after the fact, many entrepreneurs (and large companies, too) suffer from the idea that if they just do something better than the competition, the universe will unfold as it should and radiant beams from heaven will shine on them. Please, do not get me wrong, producing a new offering that is better than existing alternatives in one or more ways is a critical factor in getting customers to buy.

However, experience suggests that entrepreneurs often overlook two important factors due to blinders they have in place. For a new offering to be successful, entrepreneurs must find ways both to reduce the stability of the existing product and reduce the fear and uncertainty regarding the new alternative. Suppose you want to get married to Janice and that she really likes you.

Can we agree that this is going to be a lot harder to accomplish if Janice is already married to Bob? Sure, she can leave Bob, file the appropriate papers and someday be with you, but even if she likes you a lot (even more than Bob), she might still settle for the status quo. Change can be difficult. So, what are the factors that would make customers remain loyal to your competitor's product? Sometimes it is ignorance: customers are simply unaware of new alternatives. Other times it is the perception that something will be lost in switching.

For example, when people consider moving to a new bank they may be concerned about losing their credit history and a good relationship with their banker. Or they may not look forward to the hassle of changing automatic payments to all of their utilities and so forth. What are you asking people to give up when they migrate to your product and/or what inconveniences will they face? Answer these questions and you will be that much closer to getting people to adopt your new alternative. Here is another stumbling block.

I am not sure about you, but I am not really keen on getting negative feedback. Feel free to spend all day telling me how wonderful I am, but criticism is something I would prefer to avoid, even if I know that addressing certain negative issues might help me become better. In the same way, for many entrepreneurs, their new idea is their wonderful creation. Indeed, it is very much like a child, and nobody wants to be told his or her child is ugly in any way.

So, typically we will avoid any avenue of discussion that calls our new offering into question. Approach it from the perspective of your customer, though. They are bound to have questions and uncertainties, if for no other reason than they do not have the knowledge you do about your product or service. If these remain unanswered, it's unlikely that very many will come over to your business. So, yes, by all means create that better mousetrap — an offering that is better than any other out there in one or more ways. But do not forget to rock your competitor's boat and face the questions about your new idea.

First published in "Getting Started" through The Arizona Republic, May 19, 2015.