
Ask HN: Should I directly compare my product to my competitors in my marketing? - osrec
Hi Guys, I run a reasonably successful SaaS product called Bx (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;usebx.com). Most of our users have joined us through word of mouth, or via link ups with various accountancy practices. So far we have done very little marketing - we basically just have a landing page and a video, neither of which are great. My competitors are the likes of Quickbooks, Sage and Xero and we would like to highlight where we are better than them. So I was wondering if it&#x27;s considered unethical&#x2F;bad practice to compare your features with your competitors directly on your landing page? Thanks for any advice&#x2F;insight!
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ddingus
Doing that is ethical.

You have a choice here:

Sell on your positives

, or

Sell on their negatives.

Either works, but the positives have the advantage of not trash talking your
way out of the space. Doing it better, with more features is competition.
Nobody can fault you and your team for that. Talk it all up. That's what you
are doing the work for. No harm, no foul.

Saying the other guys suck, as a primary selling point, is kind of dubious in
that your real value is always expressed in their lack of value. Should they
add a feature, or even just reframe their stuff to get a couple of bullet
points, you are left in the position of your competition being able to define
you. Bad juju.

Ideally your additional positives are compelling enough to get users to
migrate as much as it is getting new users to pick your offering, new and
unproven as it is.

Are those things true?

Say them. And the need for your check list ends up being a statement of
security, like "yeah, we got all the basics you know and love right here,
plus.... [insert it here.]"

Ever watch laundry soap companies go at it? They will never, ever mention the
other guy. They will talk up their new and improved all day long.

They will also connect those things to needs and wants their potential
customers have.

Do that. The check box list is just security. You got the core well covered,
plus... Software is more than laundry soap, so making a list and comparing
does make sense, but going negative about it really doesn't, in the longer
term.

My .02 FWIW.

~~~
osrec
Thank you - pretty much what I wanted to hear ;)

Edit: I'm not sure why your answer has been down-voted. I think your general
message is highlight your positives rather than their negatives, which sort of
seems okay to me. But I'd be interested to hear more opinions from the down
voters.

~~~
ddingus
Me too. The thing is, with the QB community, there is a ton of demand for
something a bit more powerful than their current online offering. Desktop is
pretty awesome, but a pain to live with.

It should be super easy to just go at it with...

Want to move to an online financial solution with (features)?

And there are a ton of ways to pitch it positive.

With normal business growth, comes (needs). Take it to the next level, with
(features).

Tons of QB users are seeking niche features only found in enterprise desktop.
I’m not familiar with the other solutions in this space, but advertising those
things should attract a regular stream of prospects looking to move off
desktop.

What I do know is a lot of accountants want to move people online. I would
definitely message to those people.

Oh well. In any case, let’s see how the discussion proceeds. Maybe we both
will learn something.

~~~
osrec
Funnily enough, we tend to pick up most of our users after they've not enjoyed
their experience with Quickbooks and are looking for something better. Maybe
I'll ask a couple of them to highlight why they chose to switch...

~~~
ddingus
Bingo!

QB is rather painful once a company chooses to do anything beyond traditional
workflow.

Basically everyone wants more advanced features, and automation.

Go get em. Plenty of need out there. Would have loved to see you a few years
ago. I’ll point the current staff your way. They may still want to take a leap
this year.

Edit: You might consider showing a US currency dashboard for the US. It’s a
small thing, but may set the, “its foreign, meaning support might be off time
zone” exception off to the side. First impressions... and all that.

------
ecesena
I think you should have multiple landing pages.

If I come to your site looking the problem Bx will solve, I don’t think it’s a
good idea to show me your competitors... I may decide to go with one of them.

If, viceversa, I’m looking for your competitor, then you want me to land to
your page, crafted to convince me that Bx is better.

------
mcintyre1994
IMO this is a good thing to do. A good example is
[https://honeymoney.io/en/compare](https://honeymoney.io/en/compare),
honeymoney was on the front page today and as a YNAB user this is exactly the
sort of comparison I'd expect.

~~~
ddingus
That page is really great, BTW.

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chatmasta
Your user is going to find your competition anyway, whether now or after they
become your customer. You can’t hide options from a consumer, even in small
markets. So you may as well present the comparison, unless you’d rather your
competitors speak for you.

On the other hand, an argument against it is that by acknowledging the
identities of your competitors, you are psychologically anchoring your company
to them. You’re saying “we solve the same problem.” But what if you’re solving
a _bigger_ problem? What if your product is so innovative and market-defining
that your competition will not be the same in Phase 1 as in Phase 2? Do you
want to risk being grouped into the same pool as less innovative companies?

------
DoreenMichele
It's perfectly fine to do that. A best practice is to explain the differences
in an apples to oranges way rather than trash talk your competitors.

In other words, don't say "Our product is better and these other products are
all shit because..."

Instead, say "Our niche is (describe your target audience) and our product
serves that niche better than (competitors doing thing that serves other
niche."

Here is a piece that lists four products in the same space and reasons
individuals might prefer one over the other without trash talking anyone:

[http://worldwidewebworks.blogspot.com/2017/12/accept-
credit-...](http://worldwidewebworks.blogspot.com/2017/12/accept-credit-card-
payments-with-your.html)

------
soneca
I agree with ddingus that it is better to sell on your positives. But, in this
space, against these big firms, you should have a clear differentiation. State
that.

Make it clear to whom your product is specially designed. And list the
features that the others don't have that confirms that positioning.

Then you can state things like _"The only/best accounting product if you
are/want XYZ"_

~~~
osrec
Thank you. We do have some nice differentiating points that we can highlight,
so will bear that in mind when we redesign the landing page (and any
supporting pages).

~~~
soneca
Here is a _great_ guide to growth:
[https://www.julian.com/learn/growth/intro](https://www.julian.com/learn/growth/intro)

Its section on Landing Pages is an awesome resource for getting some low
hanging fruits right on your landing page. Very actionable advice that will
most certainly improve your redesign.

~~~
osrec
Thank you, I will give that a read tonight.

