
“____ Ruined ____ for Me”
If you’re aiming to provide a better experience, the number of times you hear this phrase is one way to measure how well you’re doing.
In the past few weeks alone, I’ve heard variations of the following numerous times:
“Blue Bottle ruined Starbucks for me.”
“Uber ruined Taxis for me.”
“Virgin ruined every other airline for me.”
Something quite impressive is happening here. In each instance, the experience that the new brand or service is providing is so superior that it actually downgrades the position of the alternative in the consumer’s mind.
Starbucks coffee hasn’t actually changed since you had your first sip of Blue Bottle, but your impression of it surely has. The coffee suddenly tastes burnt; the ambiance comes across as corporate and staged.
All of the examples above are instances of people choosing affordable luxuries over lower-priced, and lower-quality, alternatives. Sure, there’s a hint of snobbery that goes along with this, but it’s minor.
You don’t always need to set out with the goal of disrupting something or completely beating a competitor. You just need to provide an experience so unique and so superior that you “ruin” the alternatives in your customer’s eyes.






