How do you enable your teams to win when faced with other competitors in your space?

Differentiators

Good messaging smartly incorporates differentiators. Yes messaging is about the outcomes and benefits, it is about the category and the disruptions , it is about value pillars but great messaging smartly incorporates differentiators in that work

When you describe your product with adjectives like easy to use, flexible, integrated, intelligent, automated, enterprise-grade, accessible, secure, powerful, unified, all-in-one etc - you are indirectly conveying why your product is different/better than others. When done well, this is the key area you demonstrate how you are different

Differentiators could be on features that are unique to your product, or market leadership (e.g. #customers, volume of data), on vision, or simply execution and innovation. Best differentiators are a combination of all these.

True story - I was once in a scenario where we were up against an incumbent. They had more customers and a rich feature set but their innovation was stagnating. We had more engineers and bigger investments on the product, and our innovation momentum was strong (e.g. no of releases in the previous 12 months). We highlighted our innovation momentum and vision as a key differentiator. Combined with customer proof points and case studies, we dramatically improved our win rates (even though the products were very similar)

In very competitive scenarios, the best way to understand differentiators is to ask customers why they chose you over others. This could come through win-loss surveys, or direct customer interviews. You could have the best ‘AI engine’ on the planet, but if that’s not the reason your customers are choosing you over competition, maybe it doesn’t deserve to be in the list of top 4 differentiators (even if your product team feels otherwise). Good messaging balances the "voice of the customer" with the product truth to create a truly differentiated and winning value proposition

Building differentiators is not enough. It is important to make sure this is well represented in your customer’s buying journey. Make sure your sales reps are trained to describe your competitive differentiators in a demo, a cold call and every solution presentation. Make sure your web copy highlights not just what you do (features) and why does it matter (outcomes) but also the how you do it in a manner that is unique and differentiated.

PMM is in a unique place not just to create these differentiators but also to make sure they are consistently used and described by everyone. This comes from the right enablement and company wide activation - and often requires CEO/top down support and alignment. The goal is to make sure that everyone - the CEO, the sales teams, the partners, the CSMs and everyone in marketing has the same response to the question “What is unique about xyz? How are you different that others“

Finally, when it comes to specific competitors, it is important to condense all talking points in the form of a battlecard that sales teams could use. If you have a more PLG led self-serve motion, sometimes you can articulate these competitive differentiators on the website directly as comparisons. Either way - important to highlight two things

• What are the reasons why customers choose you ? Remember: it is not just about the features.
• Substantiate with real customer examples

One way to help your team win in a competitive space is to focus on building a strong culture within the organization. This can include fostering a sense of collaboration and teamwork, as well as promoting a positive and proactive work environment. 

Another key aspect is to ensure that your team has the necessary skills and resources to compete effectively, which may include providing training and support for professional development.