Insulting The Competition – Is It Going Too Far?

When you are marketing your company, the one thing you can be absolutely sure of is that you want the public to think of you as the only company they want to come to in your sector. This means putting yourself above the competition, and this in itself can be a tricky proposition. Obviously you have confidence in your company, but you are biased. How do you convince someone who has no vested interest in giving you money to go ahead and do just that, instead of going to another company?

The fact is that people have free will, and will choose between companies by judging them on their merits. This leads some companies to run hostile advertisements, actively attacking their competition in one way or another. It will usually be somewhat subtle, but it is usually completely graceless.

The idea that you can convince people to choose your product by telling them that it is “better than that other company’s product” is pretty misguided. If you sell your company by referencing another, rather than talking about all the great things yours does, it’s a risky strategy.

Apart from anything else, you risk being drawn into a tit-for-tat war with another company, who will probably find things that they can attack about yours. This is a needless situation to be in, as it makes you look immature and amateurish when by focusing on your good points you could be selling yourself far more effectively.