When looking at the state of your business, it is natural to compare it to other businesses. If you want to get a realistic picture of your business, who you compare it to matters.
Recently, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz gave an interview about how well the company was doing. He and the interviewer kept talking about how strong same store sales were and how no other brick and mortar retailer was holding on to customers like Starbucks. The statement was completely true. It was also completely irrelevant. Starbucks does not face the same challenges as retailers. No one is buying a cup of coffee at Amazon and waiting for next day delivery.
If he wanted to make his point accurately, he should have compared Starbucks to businesses in its own sector such as Dunkin Donuts, McDonald’s, or Tim Horton’s. By not comparing apples to apples the comparison is meaningless and gives a positive comparison that may or may not be justified. Don’t look for the positive comparison. Compare apples to apples and react to the data realistically.
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