The Real Cost of Trash Talk in Business

Marketing Shenanigans (#042)

If you want to build a million-dollar brand, you need to explain what makes you different—without trashing your competitors. Here’s how.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to the competition.

On the surface, it seems like a strong strategy. Why not point out why you’re better? But here’s the problem: When you focus on why you’re better than someone else, you lose sight of what makes you unique.

And the truth is, your uniqueness is your superpower.

So, What’s The Alternative?

Stop focusing on your competitors. Instead, focus on your process. Think about yourself as a builder who’s competing against other builders, we all have the blueprints, now why should we work with you?

Let me take you through a conversation I had last week that'll probably feel a little too familiar. And yes, I did just set this up like a story because sometimes the best lessons come from eavesdropping. 🎭

Picture this:

Client: "So what makes you different from our current agency?"

Us: "I'll be honest - I've never worked with them, so I can't speak to their magic. But from our experience, most agencies follow a pretty standard approach: discovery ➡️ creative brainstorm ➡️ approval dance ➡️ execution sprint. And hey, sometimes it works! It's the highway route - tested, reliable, and if it gets you there, it gets you there."

Client: skeptical eyebrow raised. "Okay... so what makes you different, wise guy?"

Us: "We start by doing something that might seem obvious but rarely happens - we crash your customer service team's coffee break. Why? Because while data tells us what people do, your CS team knows what keeps your customers throwing their phones across the room at 2 AM. It's like having a cheat code for human behavior. We also survey your audience, look, we value your input but we want to hear what they have to say. Before we give you a creative idea, let’s make sure it’s something your customer actually relates to.”

Client: “Okay, go on…”

Us: “Then we get nerdy. Like, really nerdy. We take that frontline intel and mix it with hardcore market research. We look at what’s going into the search bar on Google, Amazon, Etsy, YouTube, IG, & TikTok because lets be honest, we’re more vulnerable with our search bar than our own therapist...

I’m pausing to laugh while writing this because that is sadly so F*CK’n TRUE! LOL

From there, we don't just make pretty things (though trust me, they're pretty 😉). We're building campaigns that make people feel something while communicating how our products solve their problems. Because here's the truth bomb - people don't buy logic, they buy feelings and justify with logic. We’ve had performance marketers and brand experts both tell us you can’t build brand and your performance marketing channels… yet here we are!"

Client: "Sounds fancy, but what do we actually get?"

Us: "You get (explain your full product offering). We also (explain how they can accessorize your product offering or how you help them adopt your practices quicker).

Client: "But how do you know it works?"

Us: "Here's the thing - creativity isn't where we start, it's our victory lap. It's what happens after we've done the homework, understood the assignment, and actually know what's up. We won't promise you the moon - our case studies do the talking. If someone else is promising guaranteed results, maybe they've got a crystal ball we don't. But this approach? It's what we use for our own companies too."

Client: "Interesting... what's the damage?"

And that's where I'll leave you hanging because pricing conversations deserve their own newsletter. (See what I did there? Always leave them wanting more 😏)

Think of it this way: you don't need to throw shade at the competition when your work throws light on what's possible.

Now that's a mic drop. 🎤

A clear process leads to clear results. Even if someone doesn’t buy from you, they’ll leave knowing you have a system that works—and that’s powerful.

The Takeaway

Stop focusing on what your competitors do. Instead, focus on why you do things your way—and make sure it delivers results. If your competition wants to talk about you, let them. The more they focus on you, the more they’ll expose their own weaknesses.

Meanwhile, you’ll be busy showing your audience why your way works.

TL;DR: Don’t waste time comparing yourself to competitors. Highlight why your process is unique, and let your results speak for themselves.

Teddy Giard

In case you don’t already know, my name is Teddy, and I operate a firm that specializes in marketing strategies for lifestyle 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.