Where do you draw the line when comparing yourself to the competition?

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mpbiz

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I'm about to launch a product that is significantly better than the competition's. Not just in my opinion, but based off certain things like price, features, etc.

Is putting up a picture of my competitor's logo, product image, website name etc. right next to mine and comparing the two just asking for trouble? In other words, where do you draw the line?

I'm going to launch this product either way, but just want to know what to expect. I'm about to call out some very big companies/brands and so I'm curious if any of you have dealt with this before. It seems like a lot of big companies will throw a C&D at you for blowing your nose.
 


I wouldn't do it. It has nothing to do with a C&D, but your sales conversation should be about your product and not about your competitor's products.

Unfortunately, sales are made by captivating the imagination and not by statistics and comparisons.

Of course this can also depend on the industry/niche you are in.
 
cardine said:
I wouldn't do it. It has nothing to do with a C&D, but your sales conversation should be about your product and not about your competitor's products.

Unfortunately, sales are made by captivating the imagination and not by statistics and comparisons.

Of course this can also depend on the industry/niche you are in.
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Maybe I should have been more specific. If you look at a force factor LP, they compare force factor to other supplements... probably a good company to model after wouldn't you say?

I guess I should have been more specific. I don't just want to compare my product.. I'm tempted to say something like "Company XYZ has been robbing you blind, our product is identical and $50 cheaper."

Either way I'm doing it lol I was hoping to hear from some people who have done this and whether or not they had to deal with angry competitors.
 
It's not about angry competitors.

I'm tempted to say something like "Company XYZ has been robbing you blind, our product is identical and $50 cheaper."
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You probably don't want to say this. People don't like to admit to having made a mistake or poor decision, and they'll sooner close the window than consider your alternative.

When you're selling something in a quantitative basis, this can work okay. See dripable vs other link building tools.

Read Blue Ocean Strategy and realize that you probably don't want to be selling based on metrics. That's a race to the bottom and/or can make you look cheap.

What worked better than Dripable/etc's marketing? The marketing for Drip Feed Blasts. Regardless of the reality of the project, they did a very good job carving out their own market by refusing to compare themselves to competitors.

It's probably different if you're selling something super boring and commoditized though, right? Like protein powder?

How about concrete?

Meh, it's not.

If you have a genuinely better product you can make great money doing what you're suggesting, but there's always better money out there if you're willing to optimize both your product and your marketing instead of just relying on your product to market itself.
 
Does your traffic even know about your competitors? If your traffic has no prior education on the competition then you need to explain and convince them that they need whatever it is that you are offering. If you sell them on the fact that they need this and then they will likely buy yours and if what you offer is legitimately better then even if they do research the competition they should end up coming back to you right?

If your traffic is aware of the competition because you are trying to redirect traffic from this popular thing to your less popular but superior alternative then I'd suggest simply mentioning it in terms of its name, no picture link or logo. If they know of the competition they are also aware of all this. You're not trying to make your competition all pretty and fancy with a picture of their logo and a link. I wouldn't even focus on what you have better than everyone else. Add the typical information they add on their sales page but also modify it if your rates or success is higher and of course add any unique features about what it is you're offering.
 
You guys gave me some good ideas on how to balance everything out.

Thanks.

@g1c9

Off topic, but that cement story is great. A family member of mine actually just signed up for a wine club with a twist. It's a recurring bill of something like $40/month BUT they only send you wine from small startup wine makers / vineyards.

So you are basically supporting the underdogs. Had a glass tonight and it tasted alright.. not worth $40 a month, but people definitely feel good knowing that their money is supporting a smaller company vs. feeding a corporate machine
 
Don't directly compare yourself with the competitor -a comparison is much more powerful if it is implicit. Let the customer make the judgement on the differences.

Your job is positioning -you can sell an almost identical product and carve out a complete sub niche in a marketplace through smart positioning. With all of my products I focus on positioning -that's where the sales happen. I really can't stress this enough, I have boosted product sales by 5 figures through changes in positioning on the same product.

You can learn a lot about competitive marketing and positioning by studying the Sega/Nintendo wars of the early 90's. There are also many good reads on positioning as well.

Direct to your OP though, I frankly wouldn't call anyone out directly. It's not good marketing (it raises defenses in prospects, elicits emotions of negativity associated with your own brand which is the obvious opposite of what you want, you're inadvertently encouraging visitors to research your competitor, and you might be fucking with the wrong guy to put it simply)

Focus on making the differences self explanatory and built in to your product. Trust me it works.
 
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PhillipsPierce said:
Don't directly compare yourself with the competitor -a comparison is much more powerful if it is implicit. Let the customer make the judgement on the differences.

Your job is positioning -you can sell an almost identical product and carve out a complete sub niche in a marketplace through smart positioning. With all of my products I focus on positioning -that's where the sales happen. I really can't stress this enough, I have boosted product sales by 5 figures through changes in positioning on the same product.

You can learn a lot about competitive marketing and positioning by studying the Sega/Nintendo wars of the early 90's. There are also many good reads on positioning as well.

Direct to your OP though, I frankly wouldn't call anyone out directly. It's not good marketing (it raises defenses in prospects, elicits emotions of negativity associated with your own brand which is the obvious opposite of what you want, you're inadvertently encouraging visitors to research your competitor, and you might be fucking with the wrong guy to put it simply)

Focus on making the differences self explanatory and built in to your product. Trust me it works.
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+rep

Any specific resources you can recommend for learning more about the Sega/Nintendo wars? And can you recommend some specific reads when it comes to marketing with different postioning and angles as well.

Thanks.
 
Make your product the ONLY solution. Competition proof it.

Even talk up your competitors indirectly (it helps build credibility).

Quick example, I'm selling a made up supplement...

Listen, there are plenty of good choices on the market. One company sells a similar product that they've been testing for 3 years now, and their customers are experiencing amazing gains in rapid time.

Another company sells a similar product, and they're selling it for $24.95 per bottle, they have the lowest prices in this market. And although they do cut a few corners to cut costs, the product produces impressive results, especially at the bargain prices.

We're not the cheapest on the market, far from it. And we're certainly not the most established, other companies have been selling similar supplements for 15 years now.

But what sets us apart is our patented rapid absorption compound. We've been developing, testing and refining it over the last 3 years.

It allows your body to instantly absorb 90% of the active ingredient into your bloodstream within seconds, while even the best products our competitors offer take up to two hours while only allowing for 10% absorption maximum.

This allows you to feel intense energy INSTANTLY, you'll feel a natural drive and motivation to work out unlike anything you've ever experienced. It takes the intensity of your workouts to a whole new level, you'll be able to get more out of every session than ever before, your recovery times will be cut in half and you'll experience real gains, real strength and real RESULTS faster than ever before possible.

If you want to experience energy levels on a whole new level, if you want to feel excited about every trip you make to the gym, if you want to pack on muscle and gain strength twice as fast as previously possible, that's what this made up chemical gives you...

It costs more to produce, it's not cheap. And because it's a brand new proprietary formula, we don't have a 15 year track record. But the results it's produced for our customers speak for themselves...

If you want to experience these results, you need our made up chemical.

...And you can't get it anywhere else.
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I made that up really quick, it'd probably be illegal to say that about supplements and I'm sure I'm missing the mark on the pain points for that market, but that's the idea.

What's one thing you can give them that they can't get anywhere else? How can you position it as the ONLY solution?

Another line of thought, I don't really agree with all of Mad Men's advertising philosophies, but I do like this quote...

Don Draper: This is the greatest advertising opportunity since the invention of cereal. We have six identical companies making six identical products. We can say anything we want. How do you make your cigarettes?
Lee Garner, Jr.: I don't know.
Lee Garner, Sr.: Shame on you. We breed insect repellant tobacco seeds, plant them in the North Carolina sunshine, grow it, cut it, cure it, toast it...
Don Draper: There you go. There you go.
[Writes on chalkboard and underlines: "IT'S TOASTED."]
Lee Garner, Jr.: But everybody's else's tobacco is toasted.
Don Draper: No. Everybody else's tobacco is poisonous. Lucky Strikes'... is toasted.
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There are things you can say about competing products to make it stand out, even if your competitors do the same thing but don't advertise it.

Research methods, technology, manufacturing processes, etc.
 
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scottspfd82 said:
Make your product the ONLY solution. Competition proof it.

Even talk up your competitors indirectly (it helps build credibility).

Quick example, I'm selling a made up supplement...

I made that up really quick, it'd probably be illegal to say that about supplements and I'm sure I'm missing the mark on the pain points for that market, but that's the idea.

What's one thing you can give them that they can't get anywhere else? How can you position it as the ONLY solution?

Another line of thought, I don't really agree with all of Mad Men's advertising philosophies, but I do like this quote...

There are things you can say about competing products to make it stand out, even if your competitors do the same thing but don't advertise it.

Research methods, technology, manufacturing processes, etc.
Click to expand...

You just reminded me of what Claude Hopkins did with schlitz beer.

+rep
 
mpbiz said:
I'm tempted to say something like "Company XYZ has been robbing you blind, our product is identical and $50 cheaper."
Click to expand...

Don't do this.... that's bad copy. Plus you are basically inviting legal issues. Just offer the benefits that people really want deep down (chances are your competitors aren't) and write it in a genuine tone.

When I was first learning about writing copy, I would have thought the "Company XYZ angle is robbing you blind" sentence would be good, but it's really not. Why? It suggests that you are a sore loser - and that's a huge turnoff.

The thing that really allowed me to understand writing copy is the power of empathy. Empathize with their struggles/problems and then simply present the solution. Just outline what the product will do for people.
 
mpbiz said:
You just reminded me of what Claude Hopkins did with schlitz beer.

+rep
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Hopkins was the man.

SchlitzBeerClaudeHopkins-741611.jpg
 
scottspfd82 said:
Thanks.

Hopkins was the man.

SchlitzBeerClaudeHopkins-741611.jpg
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If you look at Samuel Adams they have basically done the exact same thing too.

I actually found an old ad for my exact biz model I'm just going to plug in my product and change the copy a bit for initial testing.

Had no diea this thread would get so much love thanks bros.
 
mpbiz said:
Maybe I should have been more specific. If you look at a force factor LP, they compare force factor to other supplements... probably a good company to model after wouldn't you say?

I guess I should have been more specific. I don't just want to compare my product.. I'm tempted to say something like "Company XYZ has been robbing you blind, our product is identical and $50 cheaper."

Either way I'm doing it lol I was hoping to hear from some people who have done this and whether or not they had to deal with angry competitors.
Click to expand...


If you are dealing with a product that is a commodity, such as your supplement example, then yes, you need to show comparisons because the products are so similar. (Why should I choose you over XYZ offering the same thing under a different name)

However, if you are truly better, figure out why and what your USP is and then focus on that. You can always do a "review" site later that you own, that compares the 2 products.
 
mpbiz said:
+rep

Any specific resources you can recommend for learning more about the Sega/Nintendo wars? And can you recommend some specific reads when it comes to marketing with different postioning and angles as well.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The original and IMO still the best book on the subject is Positioning by Ries and Trout: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Positioning-The-Battle-Your-Mind/dp/0071373586]Amazon.com: Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (9780071373586): Al Ries, Jack Trout, Philip Kotler: Books[/ame]

Regarding the Nintendo/Sega Wars that's a bit more tough. One of the markets I'm personally involved in is video games, I run a fairly large VG website and so I've been involved in the industry fairly deeply for some time now. So the knowledge of that has come somewhat as a byproduct of my involvement and reading. I'm afraid I can't recommend anything specific on that front.

Although there are many examples of positioning in the marketplace. mecca cola, subway, starbucks, among many others had brilliant positioning in a crowded market. Although mecca cola is obviously the smallest there, it's a fairly salient example of how you can open a market up with essentially the same product.

Positioning is all about framing. Tony Robbins is brilliant at framing, both in demonstrating it (especially so) but also teaching about. It's used as part of NLP and is absolutely integral in face to face sales.
 
In my experience, calling out competitors can work - one of my clients is competing against a huge competitor who has c. 80% of the market. We ran ads + LPs, saying that we were 50% cheaper than them, and our sales doubled pretty much overnight.

BUT it's a very price-driven niche, where people already know what they want to buy and are just shopping around by the time they look for us. I'd NEVER do it with a service or something high-end, because that's more about positioning vs your prospect's needs.
 
Bump.

If you were selling brand name products, and competing solely on price... am I asking to get ass raped if I film a screen cast of me showing them prices in my competitor's store/shopping cart and then showing them the exact same products for cheaper in my store and shopping cart?
 
mpbiz said:
Bump.

If you were selling brand name products, and competing solely on price... am I asking to get ass raped if I film a screen cast of me showing them prices in my competitor's store/shopping cart and then showing them the exact same products for cheaper in my store and shopping cart?
Click to expand...

It would probably be smart to talk to a lawyer if you intend to do any kind of serious volume.
 
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