Trapped

Competition drives companies to focus on customer satisfaction. Unhappy users will move to your competitor. But will they?

Often, the cost and disruption of the move are a significant barrier. The customer is kind of “trapped.”

Pharma companies do not need to make the drug less addictive. They seek to maximize profitability for each drug.

Microsoft doesn’t need to obsess about making their software suite more user-friendly. They want to make the suite more profitable.

Amazon is shifting its focus from the authors’ satisfaction to maximizing its profitability.

Verizon, Spectrum, or Frontier do not need to make their Internet service faster or mobile-friendly. Just more profitable.

This is the “trapped” syndrome. When the switching becomes cumbersome, disruptive, and costly, the business objectives of the suppliers shift. As platforms and networks expand, and their influences increase, free markets are not free so much,  and the choices are either limited or none.

When you start a small business, engage in free-market competitive thinking, and when you have a “trapped” the customer base, act like you don’t.