Quick exercise: Visit a few competitor websites in your space.

How many claim to be "easy to use"? How many tout their "world-class support"? How many are "built to scale"?

I'll save you the time—it's all of them.

Here's the thing about competitive messaging: when everyone makes the same claims, those claims become meaningless. But that doesn't mean you should avoid these topics entirely—you just need to approach them differently and share proof.

Let's break down the most common claims and how to actually make them work:

1. "Easy to use"

The problem: Everyone claims this. And "ease" is subjective—what's easy for a technical user might be confusing for others.

How to make it work:

• Be specific about WHO it's easier for

• Show, don't tell via interactive demos or video walkthroughs

• Quantify the difference ("reduce onboarding time by 50%”, “get up and running in less than two weeks,” etc.)

2. "Best-in-class support"

The problem: It's both unprovable and claimed by literally everyone.

How to make it work:

• Share guaranteed response times

• Let customers tell the story through testimonials

• Showcase unique offerings (e.g. 24/7 chat, dedicated CSM, etc.)

3. "Built to scale"

The problem: No one ever claims they're NOT built to scale. It's become a meaningless checkbox rather than a differentiator.

How to make it work:

• Highlight large-scale deployments

• Provide concrete examples of helping customers grow

• Share specific performance metrics, or privacy and security certifications

4. "AI-powered"

The problem: In 2025, who isn't? Just saying "AI" doesn't mean anything anymore.

How to make it work:

• Explain specifically how the AI helps the user

• Show measurable improvements vs. non-AI alternatives

• Demonstrate unique stories of how customers are applying your AI solutions

I’m sure there are other non-differentiated phrases being overused out there. What ones did I miss? How would you make them work if you had to use them?

Hit “reply” and let me know :-)

JUICY SCOOPS 🧃

What caught my attention

Waymo just matched Lyft's market share in SF after only 15 months.

Everyone talks about network effects in ridesharing. But there's a catch—they only matter up to a point.

Once you hit "good enough" wait times (2-4 mins), adding more drivers doesn't improve the experience much. You just need to clear that minimum threshold.

The numbers tell the story:

• Aug 2023: Uber 66%, Lyft 34%

• Nov 2024: Uber 55%, Lyft 22%, Waymo 22%

(This is just within Waymo's San Francisco operating boundary)

The interesting part? Waymo achieved this WITHOUT matching Uber/Lyft's wait times. Once they get more cars on the road... watch out 👀

EXAMPLES 🍊

Your weekly dose of vitamin C(ompete)

Linear's latest competitive move is worth studying.

They're offering their product free for up to 6 months if you're stuck in an annual contract with a competitor.

This is challenger brand strategy 101: Remove the biggest barrier keeping customers with incumbents (in this case, the sunk cost of an annual contract).

Smart way to lower switching costs and get teams to actually try something new, rather than just window shopping until renewal.

Stay Healthy, my friends.

💚Andy