Eric Sandosham, founder and partner at Red & White Consulting Partners, joins the conversation to challenge the effectiveness of benchmarks in business. He argues that much of the data lacks context and can lead to complacency. The hosts discuss the pitfalls of relying solely on external evaluation and the importance of internal data. They explore the nuances of using benchmarks for setting targets and even critique common metrics like the Net Promoter Score. With a blend of humor and insight, they encourage listeners to rethink the role of benchmarks in decision-making.
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Quick takeaways
Overreliance on external benchmarks can dilute an organization's specific operational context and hinder innovation or unique value enhancement.
Benchmarks often encourage a reactive strategy, where companies measure success against external standards instead of proactively defining their own targets.
Market research provides richer insights than traditional benchmarks, enabling organizations to understand consumer behavior and emerging trends more effectively.
Deep dives
The Obsession with Comparisons
Humans have an innate tendency to make comparisons, which extends into the business realm where organizations frequently seek benchmarks to evaluate their performance. This stems from a psychological need to understand one's position relative to others, a concept often contradicted by advice from parents to focus on personal progress instead. In a consulting context, clients commonly request benchmarks as a starting point for discussions, treating them like external yardsticks that help map their standing in the industry. However, this focus on external comparisons can sometimes overshadow the need for a deeper understanding of their unique operational strategies and goals.
Front-End vs. Back-End Benchmarks
Benchmarks can be broadly utilized as either front-end inputs for decision-making or back-end evaluations of past decisions, yet many organizations primarily treat them as performance evaluations post-factum. This can lead to a reactive approach where companies simply measure success against external standards rather than proactively setting their own strategic targets. For example, salary benchmarks are often referenced in human resources to attract talent competitively or gauge internal offers. However, relying too heavily on back-end analysis risks legitimizing complacency, as companies may feel satisfied with merely surpassing arbitrary benchmarks instead of innovating or enhancing their value proposition.
The Dangers of Misapplied Benchmarks
External benchmarks can serve as useful tools, but they come with inherent dangers, including noise and variability that may mislead organizations in evaluating their performance. Competing against an array of companies can dilute the relevance of benchmarks, especially when organizational contexts, customer demographics, and strategies differ significantly from one another. For instance, a company may have lower customer acquisition costs compared to another, but the underlying factors, such as product offerings or regional dynamics, could vary widely. Thus, benchmarks should not only be challenged for their consistency but also scrutinized for their appropriateness and the context in which they are used.
The Significance of Internal Metrics
Internal metrics and baselines offer valuable insights that often carry more relevance than external benchmarks, as they provide a context-sensitive means of evaluating performance. Organizations should leverage their internal data to establish what success looks like rather than relying solely on outside comparisons that may introduce misleading noise. A company might monitor its cost per acquisition metrics to ensure its customer acquisition strategy remains viable, successfully balancing internal and external insights without becoming overly reliant on arbitrary benchmarks. This deliberate focus encourages organizations to define their unique paths to performance success, instead of conforming to potentially irrelevant external standards.
Market Research as an Alternative
Beyond benchmarks lies the value of comprehensive market research, which provides a rich landscape of insights that informs decision-making without imposing the limitations of traditional benchmarking. Market research can reveal customer sentiment, emerging trends, and contextual factors that shapes how a business should operate and strategize moving forward. For instance, when exploring a new market, gathering qualitative data about consumer attitudes and behaviors could be far more effective than relying solely on quantitative benchmarks. By supplementing their data with in-depth research, organizations can better understand their competitive landscape and apply actionable insights to foster growth.
It's human nature to want to compare yourself or your organization against your competition, but how valuable are benchmarks to your business strategy? Benchmarks can be dangerous. You can rarely put your hands on all the background and context since, by definition, benchmark data is external to your organization. And you can also argue that benchmarks are a lazy way to evaluate performance, or at least some co-hosts on this episode feel that way! Eric Sandosham, founder and partner at Red & White Consulting Partners (and prolific writer), along with Moe, Tim, and Val break down the problems with benchmarking and offer some alternatives to consider when you get the itch to reach for one! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
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