Ice cream doesn’t just compete with ice cream

I have 6 updates for you this week.

1. On my mind

“Companies want to win against the competition.

Sometimes it's easy to name your competitors - but most times it's a lot harder.

Categories and market segments don't actually exist, it's a mental construct, and customers are mostly not thinking in terms of categories. Simply naming a market segment does not make it exist.

If you sell ice cream, you don't compete with just ice cream companies, but a myriad of brands that do a similar job for the customer. At the end of a long day, I might go for a glass of wine OR I might have cake.

If your competitor has feature X, it does not mean this product feature is recognized, prioritized or valued by its customers nor the competitor itself. It's most often not an apples-to-apples comparison.

You're always competing against a significantly wider set of alternatives than you'd like - and that set is in constant movement. Attempting to limit competition by narrowing it down in a strategy document does not make it so.

I could use Asana... or I could use Coda. On paper, these companies are in different categories, not direct competition, but they're absolutely alternatives to each other."

-Peep

2.  CXL turns 10: Join us in Austin on Nov 17th

I started organizing various events and workshops in 2008.

One day a prominent, middle-aged business owner emailed me and said: 'you know I'd attend one of your events and pay handsomely if you could put me in the same room with 20-30 other CEOs." I was 28 at the time, and didn't think much of it back then... but now I see the full truth of it.

Events are about people, not powerpoints. Who is in the room is everything.

The focus of the World Economic Forum changes every year. But the forum’s real theme is clear and constant: the power of networking.

Many people protest that they would rather devote their time to real work than to schmoozing. But the fact that more than 2,500 of the world’s busiest people fly to Davos each year is proof that schmoozing gets results. As a veteran of the WEF once put it, “contacts ultimately mean contracts.”

Networking is not just for the elites.

I've benefitted enormously from meeting people at events. I've made dear friends and gotten so many opportunities, including business. The best opportunities are always invite-only, never advertised.

In 1971 Klaus Schwab was a 32-year-old business professor, who might have spent his life publishing obscure academic articles. But instead, Mr Schwab organized a meeting of European executives, which grew into the WEF. It now has an annual budget of $200m, and the bosses of the world’s biggest firms happily pay tens of thousands of dollars each to rub shoulders with him.

They know it's about whom you know.

Come hang out with me and other ballers at my people-first event in Austin, TX on Nov 17.

Info and tickets here.

3. New on the blog

How to calculate & maintain a healthy customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Why is Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) such a critical metric?. Usually, you have to spend money to make money. Here's how to calculate CAC and more importantly, how to keep it as low as possible.

How to model your marketing against the product lifecycle

How the lifespan of a product plays out has a lot to do with the type of product and how it’s improved over time, if at all. In this article, we'll look at the different stages through the lens of marketing, different strategies and the impact they'll have on the future of your product

4. Latest episode on "How to Win"

Alex Kracov, former VP of marketing at HR and people management platform, Lattice. We hear about the importance of building a people-focused culture around a people-focused platform, and building a non-sales oriented community of HR professionals using online tools and real-world events to ensure mental availability among potential clients. I weigh in with my thoughts on combining copy and design in unison to build brand differentiation and stand out among a variety of similar products, and how to find and grow your niche as a new market entrant.

Stay tuned on Spotify, Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast platform.

5. CXL talent pool

CXL talent pool makes it much easier for open talent to work with top brands when they are ready to hire someone who matches their requirements - land more hiring opportunities and spend less time chasing offers.

If you are open to new job opportunities as a talent, join here.

Want to hire the top digital marketers? Apply here.

6. Have you implemented GA4?

If you are thinking about setting up GA4 this is a must read before you start, covering the new features, and limitations. If you need help to set up and configure GA4, get in touch with the Speero analytics team.

Find out more about Speero analytics services.

Our address: 901 S Mo Pac Expy, Suite 150, Barton Oaks Plaza One, Austin TX 78746

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