Running competitor takedown campaigns? Don't make these mistakes

Running competitor takedown campaigns? Don't make these mistakes

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Let's get a list of every target account using a competitor. Then go directly at them talking about how much better we are.

Sounds great in theory, right?

But rarely—I mean, you're getting lucky—if that approach works for your sales org.

A company will only switch solutions under this circumstance:

They're experiencing buyer's regret. Which happens 56% of the time in SaaS (Gartner).

Buyer's regret happens for multiple reasons:

- Low adoption
- Feature gaps
- Poor customer service
- etc.

Ultimately, they're not achieving the outcomes they signed up for.

If you're running competitive takedown campaigns, don't make these mistakes:

⛔️ 1:many approach across a huge list

1:many without serious thought about segmentation isn't very effective.

Don't make the mistake of building a target account list with hundreds/thousands of folks using your competitors.

Then letting reps go hog wild on a mass blast cold email campaign.

✅ What to do instead: Build small segments

Find small pockets within those accounts that you can speak to in the same way:

1) Current customers who have piecemealed together your solution with a competitor
2) Break the account list down by specific competitors
3) Accounts showing intent
4) Accounts with previous closed/lost deals (bonus points if you get specific with the closed/lost reason: missing features you have now, budget, didn't get to power, etc.)
5) Accounts where you have executive connections
6) Accounts with previous customers
etc.

Get very specific so you can tailor messaging more easily.

⛔️ Feature battle

"Our competitor doesn't have this ______ feature...and we do!"

Hold up there, sparky. Again, sounds great in theory but needs to be taken to the next level.

End users might care about specific features, but executives do not.

✅ Tailor messaging to the persona

Start by listing the top 3 areas of differentiation between you and the competitor.

Don't stop there. Now list out the problems & impact those prospects are likely having without your solution.

That's what you lead with.

Example:

Differentiation: You have one-click checkout, your competitors do not

Problem/Impact: Conversion rate on the website is half of what it could be, fewer customers make purchases. You lose sales, waste marketing dollars, etc.

The message should be less: "We offer one-click checkout, and our competitors don't..."

And more: "The top DTC shoe brands allow customers to purchase in one-click—a strategy that significantly reduces the odds of a customer adding an item to their cart and never checking out..."

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There's a ton more to competitor takedown campaigns. But this is a good start.

Want more?

I'm running a free training with Anthony Iannarino, Ralph Barsi, and Ryan Oostervald from ZoomInfo next Wed 7/24.

The topic: Displacing Competitors: How to eat your competitor's lunch

Register here to join us: https://hubs.ly/Q02Dds1G0