advertisingI’m launching an open source programming framework that is competing with another open source framework. I’m aiming to make money off support amount other things if the product becomes popular. However, there’s a current competitor in the market that’s huge. My idea is a much more robust solution that targets developers who should use a more advanced platform (that’s not there) but they are stuck using this software. However, looking through the source code, it’s apparent that the code is written poorly and it could be done better.
I’m perhaps a little bitter since I’ve ran into issues when using their framework that shouldn’t happen. It’s not that bad for most cases, but some parts are poorly maintained.
So, how do I try to promote my product? I don’t want to directly bash the other project since that’ll make my company look bad. At the same time, it could be used as great opportunity to allow me to win over customers. What do I do to make it not seem like I’m bashing the other product?
This is always a tough one, to the point that it’s probably one of the few issues that a piece of open source software can readily share with someone running for a political office.
Before I get started, I’ll note that this question kind of reminds me of https://startups.stackexchange.com/q/1362/59. They’re not the same thing by any stretch, but I think the central conceit of “how can I give facts without making my company look bad” is common and each can take some lessons from the other.
#Focus on the good
Ultimately, though, I’m not sure that there’s really any awesome solution to this. The best approach is probably to focus on the good things.
In other words, when you could say:
Their product doesn’t support this feature!
It might be better to say:
Our product does support this feature!
Of course, you really have to be aware of the audience to make that kind of decision. If people are actively looking for this feature and know that the competitor doesn’t have it, this is fine. Of course, if it’s one of those nice little things that they might otherwise assume the other product to have, this doesn’t really work.
A nice alternative in the latter case is to use a product comparison chart. Using a graphic to illustrate differences can make you seem more objective than writing in in paragraph-form, even if what you’re saying is comparable in meaning. When you sound objective, people (probably) won’t blame you for being, frankly, better.
#Phrase positively
Along a similar–albeit arguably more obscure–line, phrasing things positively rather than negatively can reduce the impact of bashing.
Instead of:
Theirs is x% slower.
Say:
Ours is y% faster.
Even though they mean the same thing, people are more likely to walk away from the second thinking positively of you. You’re saying something nice (fast! good!), and improving your image, without being immediately detrimental to theirs, however strongly it is implied.
#Get recommendations
Recommendations are another great way of marketing things like this. If you can get testimonials from users of your product, you can essentially use their word in place of yours. Within reason, if they say “this product is so much better than [competitor’s],” your company isn’t really at fault for that.
Of course, you still have to be careful. If you have twenty testimonials talking about how awful that other project is, people will catch onto the point you’re trying to make.
#Don’t go overboard
Whatever approach you take, don’t focus everything you do on sounding better than your competition. Have a section in your documentation, sure, but you don’t need to spend all of your marketing area talking about how much better you are than your competition. If you make yourself sound awesome, then mention, “oh, and we also have this going for us over our competitor,” that’ll sound a lot more factual, and have an overall more positive effect. Presumably, your project can stand on its own two feet, and the advantages over your competition are merely side-effects.
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