How Can You Compete With Amazon?

Do you really want to compete with Amazon? Unless you’re a major retailer like Target or Walmart, probably not. But here’s something you need to know:

Whether you know it or not, you are already competing with Amazon!

Amazon has created a new customer expectation. It has set the bar for convenience, low friction, self-service shopping, and customer service, and much more. Customers have learned they can get many of their essential products (and not so essential products) within an hour or two. It has taught consumers what it’s like to experience this type of service, and they love it.

For years I’ve been telling our clients that they’re not just being compared to their direct competition. We’re all being compared to the best service our customers have received from any company. In my customer service keynote speeches, I’ll often ask, “What is the easiest company to do business with?” It’s no surprise that the majority of the audience (as in 90% or more) will say Amazon.

This is the “Amazonation” of more than just the retail industry. It’s impacting how any type of business—this includes both B2C and B2B—is managing its customers’ new and more demanding expectations.

I’ve been watching how different companies’ customer service and experience offerings have expanded in the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these changes. Here are examples of how some brands are competing with the new and higher expectations.

Kroger, the largest grocery store operator in the U.S. recently announced that it is introducing drone delivery in certain markets. According to the announcement earlier this month, they want to provide “a seamless ecosystem and provide customers with anything, anytime, anywhere.” If Kroger is to compete in the grocery delivery industry, it is going to go toe-to-toe with Amazon’s grocery delivery program. Walmart and Target are doing it, too.

Last year Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Pharmacy, an online pharmacy that provides prescriptions through its website. This is an industry disrupter for Walgreens, CVS, and every other retail pharmacy. By the way, Amazon wasn’t the first to do this. Express Scripts (and others) have been delivering prescriptions to their customers’ doorsteps for years. It’s just that Amazon has the capability to be the biggest.

How did the market react to Amazon’s announcement? Pharmacy stocks fell. According to CNBC, Walgreens dropped 8 percent, CVS dropped more than 6 percent, and Rite Aid dropped 11.9 percent. So how do these iconic brands in the retail pharmacy world compete with Amazon?

Consider CVS’s recent announcement that it is piloting a mental health counseling and therapy program in its local stores. It is giving up valuable retail real estate in stores to provide a service, not just sell a product. Walmart has also jumped into the mental health industry and operates 20 Walmart Health clinics. More than just an additional service these (and other) retailers are offering, the goal is to work their way into the daily needs and routines of their customers’ lives. The more they integrate into their lives, the more the customer is connected. This translates into repeat business and even customer loyalty through delivering on higher expectations, building trust, and meeting needs.

Amazon is as much an innovation company as it is a retailer. It has crushed traditions and found new ways to deliver the customer a better experience. Not every company can provide drone delivery, in-store health programs, or other services major retailers are doing to stay competitive with Amazon. But, every company can look at what customers like about Amazon and ask themselves, “What are they doing that we can be doing?”

For example, how hard is it to send emails confirming orders are placed, shipped, received, etc., which is something that Amazon is very good at? Amazon’s customers—and that means your customers—love information. Email or text message updates aren’t that hard or expensive to implement. When you do, you’ve just overcome what used to be a competitive differentiator for Amazon, which is just keeping customers informed.

Some of the best competitive insights can be discovered by asking your own people what they think Amazon would change if they took over your company. What services would they add? What would they eliminate? This will give you even more insights on how to compete with one of the most successful and iconic brands in the history of business.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and the host of the Amazing Business Radio podcast. Learn about Shep's virtual customer service training at shepardvirtualtraining.com.

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This article originally appeared on Forbes.com