AMA: Crossbeam Senior Director Product Marketing, Amanda Groves on Competitive Positioning

Here is my spicy take.. and it's not likely not how you've been trained to operate. Stay with me... First, it's critically important to align on exactly "who" is your competition. This will vary by segment and Ideal Customer Profile. Second, I rely on Donald Miller's Storybrand framework to help suss out who the competition is with product. Each quarter, we do a narrative kick-off exercise where we delve into the following "hero's journey" by answering the following questions: * Who is the character: the customer is always the hero of the story, not the brand. It’s up to UX designers to figure out what customers want from the brand, usually through UX research and user testing. They need to focus on the desires that drive people, things like conserving financial resources, saving time, building social networks, or gaining status. * What is their problem: The villain in the StoryBrand arc is the character’s problem. It’s useful to personify that problem and understand that the company’s products are like weapons the customer can use to defeat it. THIS is your competition. * Companies tend to focus on solving external problems, but customers buy solutions to internal problems. People have three levels of conflict: * External (most businesses try to solve external problems) * Internal (such as frustration, intimidation, insecurity) * Philosophical (why does this story matter?) * Who is the guide (product): The guide is the business, product/capability. Customers need someone to take care of the problem. Their perception of the brand will be crucial to their trust. Two things must be communicated: * Empathy (show an understanding of the pain the customer may feel) * Authority (it will give the customer confidence that the brand is able to help them) Third, it's easy to look outside and point fingers at the competitive players. But the danger here is getting into feature wars that are relatively meaningless to your audience. Also you could end up building a product that is not for the people who chose you - your customers. I've seen this happen to organizations that lose sight of their base and focus too much on the competition... they end up with a frankenstein product that's built for "others" outside of product - this results in churn and wasted capital. If you look "inside" at the core struggles your existing personas are facing - that right there is your competition. This - in addition to "no solution" and the "status quo" are the real battles PMM and PMs should be fighting. Tech competition is secondary and tertiary - and too often, a distraction.

People, speed, customer success and employer brand are the secret sauce to any business because they are proprietary and CANNOT be replicated. This is your differentiator and it makes up your brand. Invest in talent. Ship quickly. Build and nurture customer advocates who authentically love your product and brand. If you do this - it won't matter what bits and bobs are across the competitive hall. Your Brand is the differentiator and the aforementioned pillars are the raw ingredients that make it sing. This can come through in every launch / PMM program and should consistently be present to reinforce and deliver customer promises. If you haven't conducted an NPS program in awhile (or ever) this is a great way to objectively gauge customer health and understand whether or not a feature frenzy is actually problematic or not.

I think everyone forgets about "status quo" and "no solution" competitors. These two more often than not - make up the vast majority of whitespace / addressable market for a company. We get excited by stories - which are told by our competitors. The problem is they are distracting to us and our market. Focus on the people who are doing things the old way or have not yet made up their mind. Convince them by focusing on why YOU win. What makes you different. What are the 5 things your product does better than anyone else. Not what you do compared to others in a feature by feature comparison. Ultimately what's best for a customer is unique, personal and not tangible. People buy from people they like - and competition can get ugly if approached with bias and FUD. Resist the low blows too - that is JV stuff and no one is here for that.

I uncover competitive insights from using social listening tools like Gong and Chorus. My PMM team has filters set up so we can listen for key concepts, competitors, and competitive terms. From there we can see historical data and trends on whether or not our positioning of key differentiators influences closed/won rates overtime. This is helps us proactively understand what is top of mind for our prospects in competitive deal cycles. Another way to suss out competitive insights is your standard closed/won and closed/lost report by competitor in a CRM like SFDC. This should be run by a Sales leader and shared with product to inform product roadmap/innovations + team enablement. Finally, analyst relations and third-party review sites are another way to understand intent and competitive playing field. I regularly invest in a smattering of all aforementioned channels to stay in the know and ahead of the game.

I love how candid this question is! It's true - we build a lot in PMM and largely don't know if it's being used. If you have a tech stack that has a social listening tool (gong) + enablement tool (klue, crayon, guru) you should be able to build, track and measure efficacy of the PMM programs you're building around competitive intelligence. One way we reinforce this at Crossbeam today is by using quizzes and courses in a tool called workramp - that way we test our sales teams' knowledge and make learning stick. If they aren't held accountable - it's hard to enforce the consumption of material. Going over closed lost/won reports in competitive deals is also helpful. Share wins and belly flops with the teams on the heels of a win or loss. What went well? What didn't? A mix of the above will build a culture of authenticity and accountability when it comes to aligning PMM and Sales.

I think there's a way to do this via experimentation in top of funnel campaigns. Target prospects in performance advertising campaigns (linkedin for example), and see what sticks for them via messaging and positioning. Use dynamic messaging on websites powered by tools like Mutiny to test preferences with targeted copy/features etc. Then change course and influence decisioning based on your findings.

I use a standard product marketing brief for launches that includes competitive positioning. I'll include a section for where we win along with key value props and differentiators. Another way I do this is via regular team enablement syncs, dedicated slack channels, and guru cards. The key is making sure the content is visible, searchable, and referenceable in centralized place that sales uses.

Pretty regularly. I talk with customers at least once a week! To do this I have automated campaigns that share my availability with customers to set up time with me (via calendly). This results in at least 1, sometimes 2-3 customer calls a week. Do not sleep on talking with customers - it is arguably the most important part of the job. The customer is the ultimate aligner so if you understand their voice, and present their voice, you have influence.

If you can objectively point to artifacts where there are gaps in functionality e.g., website, customer reviews via third-party sites, etc - that would be my suggestion. From there, take control over the conversation and instead focus the sales conversation on where you win and how you're the best choice to solve the customers unique problem (with defensibility). I way to position an objection to this, "We've heard from customers that x, y, z is very important to them - is this important to you? Cool, we have that and are the leader for x solution, here are the boom stats to prove it..."

Context is queen! Here are some ways I tend to approach sharing competitive intelligence with my teams: 1. Customize for the Audience: * Tailor the comms to the specific needs and interests of different stakeholders. Executives may want a high-level summary, while product managers might require more in-depth details. 2. Regular Updates: * Provide regular updates on competitor analysis, whether it's on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, to keep everyone informed about changes in the competitive landscape. Close the feedback loop and establish credibility by continuously sharing relevant information. 3. Use Visuals: * Incorporate visual aids such as charts, graphs, and tables to present data and trends in a clear and easily understandable format. Visuals can help stakeholders grasp key insights quickly and addresses more learner audiences. 4. Executive Summaries: * For senior executives, create concise executive summaries that highlight the most critical insights and their potential impact on the business. 5. Detailed Reports: * For teams that require a deeper understanding of the competition, offer more detailed reports with comprehensive data, analysis, and recommendations. 6. Competitor Profiles: * Develop competitor profiles that summarize key information about each competitor, including their strengths, weaknesses, strategies, and market positioning. 7. SWOT Analysis: * Use SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to illustrate the competitive landscape. This can help stakeholders see where your product fits in and where it can excel. 8. Trends and Insights: * Share insights on market trends, emerging threats, and opportunities, and how these may impact your product or industry. 9. Actionable Recommendations: * Include clear, actionable recommendations based on the competitive analysis. Explain how the organization can capitalize on strengths or address weaknesses. 10. Competitive Playbooks: * Develop competitive playbooks that provide a structured guide on how to respond to different competitive scenarios. Share these with relevant teams. 11. Interactive Workshops or Meetings: * Host interactive workshops or meetings where team members can discuss the findings, ask questions, and collectively brainstorm strategies in response to the competitive landscape. 12. Feedback Loops: * Encourage stakeholders to provide feedback on the analysis and recommendations. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement and ensures that insights are relevant and actionable. 13. Q&A Sessions: * Schedule Q&A sessions or open forums where stakeholders can ask questions and seek clarification on the competitive analysis. 14. Collaboration Tools: * Utilize collaboration tools and platforms to share real-time updates and information with team members. This can streamline communication and ensure that everyone has access to the latest insights. 15. Documentation: * Keep a well-organized repository of competitor analysis reports and documents for reference. Make them easily accessible to relevant team members. 16. Monitor Competitor Activity: * Continuously monitor competitor activities and provide updates when significant developments occur. 17. Seek Input: * Encourage team members to contribute their observations and insights on competitors. This collective intelligence can enhance the depth of your analysis.

Prioritizing competitive insights and making research actionable is crucial for product marketing success. Here are some things to keep in mind so your efforts are moving the right needles: 1. Align with Strategic Goals: * Ensure that your competitive research aligns with your company's strategic goals and product roadmap. Prioritize insights that directly impact your product's success or market positioning. 2. Regular Cadence: * Establish a regular schedule for competitive research. Set aside specific time for it, whether it's weekly, monthly, or quarterly, and stick to the schedule. 3. Define Clear Objectives: * Clearly define the objectives of your competitive research. What specific questions or challenges are you trying to address? Having a clear purpose will make it easier to prioritize and act on insights. 4. Segment Competitors: * Not all competitors are equally relevant. Segment competitors into primary, secondary, and tertiary categories. Focus more on primary competitors and adjust your efforts accordingly for others. 5. Actionable Insights: * Ensure that the insights you gather are actionable. Instead of accumulating a vast amount of data, focus on key takeaways that can drive decision-making. 6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: * Work closely with other teams, such as product management, sales, and customer support, to gather insights and ensure that competitive intelligence is a collective effort. Sharing insights with these teams can lead to more actionable results. 7. Use Tools and Technology: * Utilize competitive intelligence tools and platforms to automate data collection and analysis. These tools can help you save time and stay up-to-date on your competitors. 8. Create Playbooks: * Develop competitive playbooks that outline specific strategies and tactics to counter competitor strengths or exploit their weaknesses. These playbooks can guide your team on how to act on the insights you've gathered. 9. Feedback Loops: * Establish feedback loops to continually assess the impact of competitive insights on your product marketing efforts. Monitor how changes influenced by these insights affect your product's performance and adjust your strategy as needed. 10. Executive Support: * Seek support from the executive team. When leadership understands the importance of competitive insights, it's easier to prioritize these efforts and allocate resources accordingly. 11. Training and Education: * Ensure that your team is well-versed in understanding and using competitive insights effectively. Provide training on how to interpret data and turn it into actionable strategies. 12. KPIs and Metrics: * Define key performance indicators (KPIs) that are directly related to your competitive intelligence efforts. Regularly measure these metrics to assess the impact of your actions. 13. Continuous Learning: * Stay open to new methodologies and sources for gathering competitive insights. The competitive landscape is constantly evolving, so your approach should adapt accordingly.