Real Market Research: Love Thy Competition As Thyself

For the last 10 yrs I helped create and manage a major brand.  Now that I no longer have that responsibility I have been conducting a rather interesting market research experiment.  I've allowed myself to do what no self respecting corporate guy would ever do - devote myself to using the competitor's products.  (Well, no longer the competitor now, but old habits...etc.) 

I didn't run out and buy the "dark side's" products because I secretly lusted for them all these years and I wasn't being a s**t disturber even though that is core to my nature.  I wasn't just curious about where the buttons were and how much faster, slower or lighter the product was compared to what I helped market.

I wanted to get into the context of the brand and really understand what the product did for my life and what was core to the passion of the brand's followers.  

It only took me about two weeks for me to learn more about the competition than I learned in 10 yrs of following the rules.  I came to appreciate the context and nuance of brand, product and culture.  There were and are times when I love the product.  I now have full empathy for customers I once competed to acquire and as a result I know I could walk into my old company and help them compete so much more effectively because I understand the context of the competitor's experience.  It has nothing to do with the number of bolts, wires, colors or gigawhatevers.  It has to do with knowing what it feels like to love what the competitor does.  

I swear - in my future roles I will jump at the chance to send some people away to use the competitor's products.  I won't ask them to come back and tell me what's wrong with the product or simply what it does.  I will ask them to come back when they are in love the product and I will ask them to go into lush detail about their love affair.   

And that's when I'll learn how to compete and beat the competition.