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Ask HN: What to do facing direct competition?

8 points by eberfreitas ↗ HN
I have a startup in Brazil [ www.tanlup.com ]. We are a (yet) small social e-commerce website. Basically, we enable people (mainly artists) to create their own webstores easily.

Till some days ago we didn't have a direct competidor, but we learned that there is a company doing pretty much the exactly thing we do, with some extras (things that we plan to add in the future). It looks like they copied some of our visuals and features (check it out: ours [http://www.lacosdefilo.com/], theirs [http://pokkuru.iluria.com/index.html?locale=pt-br]), but I don't really bother myself 'cause this is almost a standard (or not).

What I would like to know is this: They are ahead of us at some aspects (features). We don't know how mature is their plataform (we are running for 3 years now). How should we approach this competition? Should we run and try to overcome their features? Should we stay calm with our plans and don't bother ourselves? Should I be terribly worried or be glad that now we have some competition?

5 comments

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mcnemesis
first, i'd congratualte you on acknowledging competition, as this means you aren't locked in your comfort zone.

i probably don't have the best advice, but i'd think that try not 'run' after their features, instead, identify the things that have made you successful previously and think up ways you can push them to new heights - master your niche, before rushing to spread out.

by doing this, i believe your service will standout, and who knows, you might kick 'em out! most important? don't relax, though avoid panic too. think and then implement.

_b8r0
Keep a cool head. Get feedback. Do stuff that your users want. Let them worry about copying you. Seriously, it means you're doing something right.
petervandijck
1. Whatever marketing they do will also (somewhat) benefit you. That's good.

2. Decide how to position yourself. Will you be the cheapest? Will you provide the best support? Will you have better marketing? Will you have more features?

3. Don't worry too much about it. If you're in a growing market, they won't steal many customers, instead they'll help you grow your market.

4. Time to really talk to your users and find out what really matters to them. Probably, it's not more features, but something else. Or perhaps 1 feature that's hard to do. Then focus on that, ignore all the rest.

5. Most likely, you don't want to get into a feature war.

6. Brand yourselves as "the first". Put that on your homepage, on all your branding and marketing. "The first". They can never compete with that, except by saying "we're the second". When you talk to the press, make sure to mention you're "the first". The first always sounds better than the second.

petervandijck
Also, now that you have competition, congrats, it's a movement and you can reach out to the press. Plan and start a press campaign.

1. Prepare the story for them. The story is not "we're a startup". It's not "we have features". It's not "".

2. The story is: "Artists are selling things online! Startups are letting them."

3. Prepare a story pack for the press. Include contacts of artists (that like your product) that they can talk to, photos, even mention your competitors. Also make sure you mention you are the first.

4. Now talk to all the press (also niche press), and answer your phone immediately when they call.

They'll write stories. They'll talk to artists (that you preseleced to be the ones that use your product). They'll print photos. They'll mention you are "the first startup that does this."

Awesome. Growth time. If and when you do get press, follow up with a marketing campaign if you have money to spend on that. But only after you get press/buzz.