Kwik Trip more-than-just gas stations are cropping up all over and often across the street from a competing gas station.  In St. Cloud on Tuesday, their gas was $2.439 – across the street it was $2.599.  Thursday the prices were reversed: gas at the competitor’s station was $2.439 and at Kwik Trip it was $2.599.

You may be thinking, people will buy gas where it’s the cheapest.  But will they?  Even at $2.599, Kwik Trip was crowded, and the lower priced competitor was not.

What is the competition not seeing?  Why is Kwik Trip expanding and thriving at their expense?  Too often we obsess about staying ahead of the competition, when we should be focusing on our customers.  Customers pay you, not your competitors.

It’s important to be aware of your competition, but it’s unwise to plan your strategy around them.  You’ll always be playing catch-up.  Your primary focus must always be your customers.

An Executive Roundtable member shared, “I don’t care what my competition is doing. My team and I spend every hour making sure we deliver products our customers love.”  This individual pays so much attention to his customers, he sees trends before his competitors do.  His company is one of the best, (and he still doesn’t care about the competition).

Seth Godin suggests you ask yourself: