Most companies think their competitors look like them. They don't. In this episode of Slackers, Jaime and Jonathan explore why the real competition today is not the company selling the same thing you are. It is the experience somewhere else that trained your customer to expect something better. From Domino’s Pizza Tracker reshaping expectations around delivery transparency to the way seamless digital products quietly reset the bar for every other industry, this conversation unpacks why customer expectations move horizontally across experiences and why companies that only benchmark their direct competitors often miss the real threat.
Most companies define competition incorrectly.
They build spreadsheets comparing themselves to the businesses in their category. Same product. Same industry. Same lane.
But customers do not live inside your category.
They compare every experience they have across their entire life.
In this episode of Slackers, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse explore the idea that modern competition is horizontal, not vertical. Your real competition is not the company that sells the same thing you do. It is the experience that trained your customer to expect something better.
Once customers experience transparency, speed, or simplicity somewhere else, they begin expecting it everywhere.
The conversation also explores why traditional competitive analysis often misses the point. Strategy should not be limited to spreadsheets and industry comparisons. It should function as a listening device for understanding what customers are learning from the broader world of commerce.
Key themes in this episode include:
The core lesson is simple.
Customers compare you to the best experience they had today.
Not the company that looks most like you.