Common Pitfalls That Can Derail a Competitive Messaging Strategy

This article is part of an ongoing series on competitive messaging for startup and expansion stage companies.

Previously, we looked at the key processes, roles and metrics for developing a competitive messaging strategy. But even with all the right pieces in place,  problems can still arise. Some of the common issues you might face throughout the competitive messaging practice include the following:

 

Lack of clear, measurable goals. This will make it difficult to track and monitor your progress as you develop and roll out your competitive messaging statements.

Failure to segment your target market before beginning the competitive messaging process. Without a clear focal point to develop messaging for, your competitive messaging will not be as effective. Before you set any goals, narrow down your market and determine the priority order for the target segments you want to focus on.

Crafting competitive messages too heavily focused on your strengths. You need to evaluate yourcompany’s deliverables as they relate to your prospects’ and customers’ wants and needs. If you choose to focus too heavily on your strengths, you may be omitting how you actually help your customers.

Failure to use an independent market research firm to conduct the study. It is important to have an external party conduct the primary market research during the competitive messaging process because it ensures the participants remain objective. Customers may not always tell you the truth because they may not want to jeopardize the relationship.

Ignoring your competition. It is important to evaluate how your prospects and targets evaluate your competitors as well. This enables you to identify the best ways to differentiate your company.

Lack of buy-in and/or commitment to incorporate the findings. Why invest in the process of developing new competitive advantage statements if your company has no intention of integrating them? Make sure you have an implementation plan before you even begin.

Lack of commitment to revisiting the process on an annual basis. Customers, prospects, and markets change. It is important to keep up with the trends on a regular basis.

Of course, these are just a few of the potential challenges a company is likely to face. But be aware of some of the common problems ahead will help you stay ahead of issues before they crop up.

Stay tuned for more information on developing a competitive messaging strategy for your company. Next time, we’ll finish this series by providing some valuable resources for getting started, including a competitive messaging quick start guide for the internal manager.