A seasoned product executive colleague I know lives by the mantra, “Steal all good ideas.” For product, this is certainly sage advice, but not necessarily efficient when it comes to facing competitive threats and can unnecessarily burn a startup’s precious time and resources when not a priority. Founders must remain aware that the B2B battlefield doesn’t reward nice guys. It punishes the naive. Success isn’t about having the best tech; it’s about knowing when to let competition drive you – and when to bury them.
The Yin and Yang of Competitive Strategy
- Ignore them when you’re pre-chasm: Innovators and visionaries don’t care about your competitor’s logo. They’re buying novelty and future potential. Focus on your order-of-magnitude value. Don’t get distracted by market share – they don’t care.
- Steal from them once you’re crossing the chasm: Pragmatists care about proof, ecosystem, reliability. If a competitor has nailed a distribution channel, aggressive packaging, or pricing model that builds trust, borrow theirs – but make it yours. Fuse their execution with your innovation.
Signs Your Competitor is a Real Threat
- They’re investing in whole-product: When they bundle support, integrations, or partner systems, it signals a shift toward true mainstream readiness. That’s you – or you’re toast.
- They’ve gained a foothold in your beachhead: When your target niche starts naming them in briefs instead of you – that’s bad.
- PR and analyst mentions: Pragmatists don’t buy hype, they follow analysts. If Gartner, Forrester, Deloitte cite your rival – they’re crossing into pragmatist territory.
- Customer acquisition changes: If you’re spending $10k CPA and they’re at $3k with same LTV, they’ve optimized scale. Time to copycat.
Tactics to Command the Competitive Chasm
- Market intelligence switch: Use win/loss reviews directly in your GTM. If 4/10 rival-client wins cite “ecosystem confidence,” do a rapid bet analysis and rebuild with laser focus.
- Accelerate whole-product gaps: Pursue partnerships and integrations to turn yours into a one-stop shop. Pragmatists don’t piece together – they want turnkey.
- High-touch vs low-cost: Innovators can self-serve. Pragmatists want a consultation journey. Spin up an “Emerging-Majority Response Team”: senior marketing + solution engineers supporting first 20 deals.
- Mirror pricing innovation: If they’re offering performance-based contracts, or consumption pricing, test it – on your terms, for your segment.
- Share war stories: Write short posts like “How X saved us 90 days with Y integration” – positioning yourself as both a peer (self-aware) and authority.
Rules of Engagement
Here’s the “Reader’s Digest” on how to execute:
| Phase | Attack Strategy | Signal to Shift Tactics |
| Pre-Chasm (Visionaries) | Focus on breakthrough value. Ignore rivals. | When challenger bundles plug-ins, support. |
| Crossing Chasm (Pragmatists) | Mug their execution. Borrow pricing, reps, packaging. | When they convert via ecosystem narratives. |
| Post-Chasm (Tornado) | Build partnerships, own standards, scale fast. | When you’re the incumbent—they’re mimicking you. |
Support from Trusted Experts
Despite your best efforts, prospects don’t believe you. Borrow the credibility of trusted, independent industry influencers to support your claims.
- Gartner: tech procurement teams are now cross-functional – becoming more risk‑averse and ecosystem-focused
- HighTechStrategies: pragmatists demand “whole product and proof point packages”
- HackerNoon: “The chasm is not a metaphor – it’s a graveyard.” You don’t cross with nice; you cross with war‑tested muscle.
- Wired: B2B still lives and dies at the chasm – services-centric whole-product is king
- Deloitte/WSJ: 77% of B2B execs say digital ecosystems win trust and revenue growth
Ignore the Noise, Steal the Signal, Punch Harder Than They Do
Not every competitor or alternative is a threat or deserves your attention – as but the ones that do can eat your lunch if you blink. Early on, your job is to build, not flinch. Don’t let a shinier pitch deck distract you from engineering your wedge into the market. But once the chasm looms, you better stop pretending it’s just you and your vision. Watch how your rivals evolve. If they start building scaffolding – services, partnerships, credibility – you better start stealing the blueprint. This isn’t about playing nice. It’s about survival. It’s about scaling with eyes wide open and elbows out. Ignore noise. Study threats. Execute faster. And when it’s your move, hit hard enough that they don’t get back up.
Ready to eat the steak off their plate rather than your competitors eating your lunch? Let’s engineer some explosive, marketing-led growth that puts you in the driver’s seat and leaves them choking on your dust – reach out today with absolutely no strings attached today and let’s light the fuse.
