Reverse Benchmarking
Find what the best competitor neglects, then make that gap unmistakable
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 98%
Reverse Benchmarking studies the best competitor to find what it does poorly rather than what it does well. Visit or use the leading offer, note every point that feels generic, neglected or disappointing, and select a gap that matters to a meaningful customer segment. Maintain strong baseline performance on the category's expected fundamentals, then overinvest in the overlooked dimension until it becomes memorable. Finally, name and display the difference so customers recognize why the offer is distinct. Rory Sutherland argues that ordinary benchmarking narrows margins and deprives customers of choice because every company copies the same strengths. Reverse benchmarking creates category value through asymmetry: a business becomes excellent where the leader has left open space instead of becoming a weaker replica of it.
Origin
Sutherland derives the method from Will Guidara's Eleven Madison Park team, which visited the world's top-ranked restaurant and focused on its disappointing coffee and second-class treatment of beer drinkers.
Core principles
- 01Copying leaders makes categories homogeneous
- 02An overlooked weakness creates more differentiation than a copied strength
- 03Baseline competence must accompany the distinctive feature
- 04A valuable difference should be spotlighted, not hidden
How to run it
- 1
Study the leader from the outside
Experience the best-known competitor exactly as a customer would. Record the full journey rather than relying on feature comparisons.
Pro tip Include people with different preferences in the visit.
Watch out Do not begin by cataloguing features to copy.
- 2
Hunt for adequacy
Identify moments that were fine but unremarkable, as well as segments treated as secondary. Rank the gaps by customer importance and competitor neglect.
Pro tip Ask what disappointed you despite the leader's reputation.
Watch out A gap nobody values is not an opportunity.
- 3
Double down and spotlight
Build exceptional capability in one neglected area while keeping fundamentals strong. Present it as a deliberate feature in the offer and marketing.
Pro tip Make the difference easy for customers to retell.
Watch out Distinctive polish cannot rescue a broken core product.
In the wild
After the world's top restaurant treated wine as an experience but beer as an afterthought, Eleven Madison Park appointed a beer specialist and created pairings. The minority who ordered beer expected second-class service and instead received a menu and expert guidance.
→ An overlooked segment received a memorable experience competitors had not copied.
While hotels commonly compete on rooms, Moxy puts unusual emphasis on the communal ground floor. Guests can work, eat and remain welcome after checkout, creating value in a part of the stay competitors often treat as secondary.
→ The neglected communal area becomes the property's defining advantage.
Common mistakes
Copying the leader's visible strengths
Imitation increases direct competition while giving customers no new reason to choose the copy.
Choosing novelty without customer value
A difference matters only when it improves an experience for a real group of customers.
Is it for you?
Best for
Teams in mature categories where competitors already copy the same visible best practices.
Not ideal for
Products that have not yet achieved acceptable performance on the category's basic functional requirements.
From the transcript
“what what was a bit disappointing, cuz we're going to double down on that.”
“find out something that your competitors have completely overlooked, do it really, really well and I would argue as a marketer and then actually turn…”
From the episode
Waymo, Texas Culture, Airline Lounges, OpenAI & Uber Eats - Rory Sutherland - #973 -