Memecast #34: There's No Such Thing as a Commodity

I hate the word commodity. When I see product managers or marketers or salespeople using it, it makes me think they're lazy. It makes me think they haven't thought through what they're really saying because there really is no such thing as a commodity.  Think about the ultimate commodity product for second and that's gold. I could look online and tell you what the spot price is for gold right now.  And then I could go to a webpage and I could buy a gold medallion and it turns out if I go to more than one gold broker, I'm going to get a different price for that gold coin. “There is no such thing as a commodity. There is no such thing as a commodity. There is no such thing.” - Mark Stiving Now, why is that even possible?  This is a commodity.  How could one company be charging me more money than another company would?  Well, there are lots of reasons. Maybe the company that charges more has faster delivery or better credit terms, or they've built a reputation with me, or they have a better looking webpage or they do a better job at marketing and attracting customers. There are lots of possible reasons. Maybe the gold itself is a commodity, but there's so much going on around any acquisition, any purchase that we shouldn't be thinking about our product as a commodity, because the moment we think we have a commodity, we stop thinking about how can we differentiate it? How can we create value in the buyer's mind? So repeat after me. There is no such thing as a commodity.  We hope you enjoyed this podcast. If you see have any questions or feedback please email me [email protected].  Now go make an impact. Connect with Mark Stiving:  Email: [email protected] LinkedIn