Comment by TeMPOraL | Hacker News Reader

Comment by TeMPOraL | Hacker News Reader

If I got an e-mail like this, I'd most likely go with the competitor.

> The FooCorps's of the world have spent a couple decades now in a the race to the bottom and it shows. I have no doubt you can get their product (or a whole raft of others) for a few bucks cheaper than us.

AKA. "Our competition suck and it shows."

> Our product, Acme, is different.

Of course.

> Look, FooCorp's customers are switching to Acme in droves because we're investing heavily in great customer service and innovation.

Yeah? I'd like to see data that supports it. This is one of the most common blatant lies in marketing (sure, it is true for some specific values of customers, switching and in droves) and I see no reason to trust it at face value; the sole inclusion of this sentence feels like evidence against company quality.

The same e-mail could be sent by FooCorp or any other competitor in that space. There's no Acme-product-specific information here, just universal marketing slogans.

It sounds like you don't like that the email is part of the company's marketing. But wouldn't it be crazy if they sent such an email without making it part of their marketing?

Also, there is differentiation, and explanation of why that's valuable. "We're designed to help improve your'e company's performance in the critical area of XYZ. The ROI on doing that is enormous."

Yes, any competitor could have sent such an email outlining their USP / positioning. But most of them won't, and that's what makes this an excellent example.

No, I get that the e-mail is part of company's marketing. But I don't like that marketing. The e-mail is pretty much empty of content.

> Yes, any competitor could have sent such an email outlining their USP / positioning. But most of them won't, and that's what makes this an excellent example.

Sure. The act of sending that e-mail is a plus for the company. Still, you could replace their company name with any of their competitors and get an equally valid e-mail - which suggests that there isn't much more than buzzwords in it.

> AKA. "Our competition suck and it shows."

While it might seem ingracious for a competing company to explicitly state this, it doesn't mean it isn't true, or even obvious. And if it is the case, it's definitely something you want to both know and base your decision on.

I agree. Still, there's a difference between saying that our competitors fail in this-and-this way, while we have managed to avoid their mistakes, and our competition sucks while we're special. Calling them "FooCorps's of the world" isn't nice either. I'm not trying to nit-pick here, it's the whole tone of the letter that irks me.

That letter feels devoid of any factual comparison with competitors while still managing to insult them. I tend to steer away from companies that give such messages.

You seem to believe the point of the email was to convince Joseph that Acme was better than FooCorp. I suspect that Joseph already knew that, and the Acme CEO knew that Joseph knew that, and the point of the CEO's email was to put the price difference in context of the increased value given that Acme was better.

You would make a business decision based on the tone of an email?

Not solely on that, but of course I would. I actively avoid doing business with people and companies that are dishonest or rude. Tone correlates with consciousness and general human decency.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com