Stop Talking Down To Competitors

Marketing Shenanigans (#011)

Level Up Your Business With One Simple Question

Ask yourself this: “Why should somebody buy from me?”

Most people instinctively answer by listing what they do better than others. But here’s the catch—your audience already assumes you think your product is better. After all, why else would you create it?

The problem? When we compare ourselves to competitors or take shots at them, we lose our leverage. Worse, calling out competitors can backfire—highlighting their strengths to potential customers who may have overlooked them until you mentioned it.

A Better Approach: Focus on Your "Why"

Instead of tearing others down, focus on explaining why you do things the way you do. Articulating your purpose and process helps your words carry more weight, making your offer compelling without the need for comparisons.

Here’s an example:

At my business, we build ad libraries for lifestyle brands. I could say, “Most marketing agencies prioritize creativity over the solutions that drive sales and align with your mission.”

While that may be true (it is), it’s risky. It could sound like I devalue creativity, have a vendetta against “agencies,” and is also full of BS marketing jargon, making me sound like a wannabe academic and making the person I’m talking to, THINK… which, to be clear, the best gift you can give somebody is clarity—make your pitch simple and easy to understand (making somebody think, is flirting with your ego and devaluing THEIR time).

Here’s a stronger way to explain it:

By showing how our process solves a clear problem, we demonstrate expertise. Even if the client doesn’t work with us immediately, they’ll remember us when they encounter competitors who can’t articulate their process as clearly.

Let Your Competitors Do the Dirty Work

Instead of belittling competitors, let them do it for you. When you can clearly explain why you do what you do, it naturally highlights who you are not. And when clients face a problem, they’ll turn to the one with the clearest, most defined solution—you.

People believe in “why” you do something, and they pay for “what” you do.

Teddy Giard

In case you don’t already know, my name is Teddy, and I operate a firm that specializes in marketing strategies for outdoor brands. Our approach is simple: align your product development timeline with your marketing production timeline; by doing so, we can own the distribution of our message and our products.

If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to fill out this form, and if we’re a good fit, we can schedule a discovery call. We ask this because we keep a fairly narrow target for whom we work, and we like to be as open about that on the front end as possible. After all, time is life’s most valuable resource.