If you were to ask my husband, or any number of my geeky friends, they’d be able to wax philosophic about the lessons we can learn from comics and other mythologies. Although I’m not necessarily a super fan, I enjoy a good superhero just the same. Deep down I think most people do. I think businesses in particular have a lot to learn from these stories.

Everybody loves a hero

When I was a kid I didn’t just enjoy watching Wonder Woman on TV, I pretended to be her. I put on my underoos and plopped myself cross legged in front of our console TV and was fully absorbed in the experience watching Linda Carter save the day. It was magical, and fodder for a whole week of make believe.

We all pretend to outgrow it, but deep down we all like the idea of ourselves as the hero or heroine. This is the lesson for businesses. Too often the business or organization positions themselves as the hero, but what their customers really want is to be the hero themselves.

So if you can’t be the hero, what can you be?

The sensei, the guide, the master, the rabbi, the yogi…..you get the idea. There would be no Karate Kid without Mr. Miyagi. Imagine Luke Skywalker without Obi Wan Kenobi, or Batman without Alfred?

Great businesses make their customer the hero and prove themselves to be the invaluable force behind their success. People like to feel powerful and in-control, especially when they are spending money. Our ever-evolving marketplace is giving people more and more choices in the buying process and the winners and losers in this new economy are defined by how they view their customers and their relationship with them.

The winners aren’t heroes, their customers are

When Amazon came on the scene retailers scoffed, they “just knew” that this “online thing” was going to be a complete failure because after all, their brick and mortar stores were better. Who would buy things they can’t even see and touch? Turns out that just about everyone would….

At the time traditional retailers assumed the role of hero. They had the biggest, the best, the most stuff, and they had largely moved away from a focus on their customers, and instead were focused on defeating their competitors. Big box retail had largely replaced the smaller stores that gave personalized service, and had become far more focused on their own brand.

Amazon created an environment that trusted their customers to decide what was best for them. They tailored and tweaked their algorithms and customer experience in such a way that each person logged into Amazon was presented with a virtual store tailored just to them and their likes, dislikes, and shopping behaviors.

We all like being a hero

People enjoyed their Amazon experience so much that they’d brag about it to others, which is a nice way to share their hero’s journey with others. The great thing for Amazon was that produced a kind of word of mouth marketing impact that extended beyond the internet. Today I’d wager to guess that when most people hear the word “Amazon” they no longer think of a rainforest or a river, but rather an online store. The reason people love Amazon, is because it isn’t about Amazon--it’s all about them.

The winners and losers

The retailers that shriveled up and died in the wake of Amazon’s impact thought they were losing a price war, but what they really lost was a people war, one of hearts and minds. Anyone who has walked down a bustling city street, or shopped in a mall recently can attest that brick and mortar stores still exist. The winners are learning to let their customers be the hero, and that means they do business a little differently now.

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