AMA: Shopify VP Global Head of Product Marketing, Desiree Motamedi on Competitive Positioning

We typically begin by looking at their financial information, social media channels, and forums like Reddit to get a sense of what their customers are saying. We sometimes call competitors directly, acting as a customer. We can also get some great insights from our own customers about why they left a competitor. Partners who know the ecosystem are also vital in providing additional benchmarks and insight into where the needs, gaps, and opportunities are. There are a variety of third-party services that conduct interviews and offer valuable intelligence as well. The information’s out there; you just have to get creative.

With messaging, the one thing that I always push my team to think about is what’s unique to Shopify that no one else can own. Can someone slap their brand on top and say the same things? If so, the messaging and positioning is not good enough. We want to ensure that we are sharing what is most valuable to our business and that no one else can claim.

Google did a great job with this as they are rigorous when it comes to alphas, betas, and general availability. They conduct regular market research through the different stages. To get the signal that we were on the right track with an early alpha, we met with customers regularly to see if the product was a good market fit and tweaked the product accordingly based on that feedback. Beta involved a larger cohort for feedback, looking more broadly at regional product market fit. Post-GA, we received feedback on performance. Ideally, this process is a 3-phased approach where feedback allows you to adjust the product roadmap for the future, prioritizing key features.

Ideally, I think this should be systematic and conducted on a weekly basis in order to keep research fresh. Something Shopify does amazingly well is setting up time with the merchants and listening to support calls. We also enjoy connecting and meeting in-person with local merchants to hear about their experiences directly. In fact, we have a program that allows us to connect with merchants locally and learn more about their experience with Shopify first-hand. At our last team offsite we were able to spend a half day with a merchant and really get to know her and her business. We also listen to Gong sales calls to hear from prospects and customers about what their needs are; these conversations provide a lot of insight into how we can solve for any gaps. As a product marketer, I think you learn the most by staying on top of customer research and doing this on an ongoing, consistent basis.

We’re able to stay organized and updated on competitors largely due to crowd-sourcing information. We have a Competitive Intelligence Slack channel that extends across teams throughout the entire company so that individuals and groups can contribute any notable findings or insights. Updates, press announcements and feedback from customers is all shared in this one central location so that others can easily access it, as well as contribute. Additionally, new information is added into a grid or spreadsheet to organize the latest and greatest in a more detailed way, with links to the source of the information in case anyone wants to dive in deeper.

When we do competitive positioning, we try to take a holistic approach, examining companies across numerous areas. 1. We put together a general overview focused on their overall positioning and messaging from their website. 2. We dive a little deeper to look at specific product features and the company’s size to better gauge their offerings and available resources. 3. We also look at their social surfaces, pricing, top clients and existing customers. 4. We also dive into their press, both good and bad, to gauge how they’re viewed publicly and what the overall sentiment is toward them. The most important thing here, no matter what the approach, is to have one source of truth, one destination where people can get this information – this way, everyone is on the same page and can easily access the latest findings. We’ve used Google Docs to merge this information together, but it can be useful to create an internal website or similar destination as well.

An example that stands out to me was Steve Jobs’ manifesto on Flash and its security problems. What was fascinating about it was actually Adobe’s response to it. They bought full-page ads in newspapers around the world, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times that said “We Love Apple.” I remember thinking it was a bold but weak response, and Flash’s reign ended shortly after. I feel that was an example of not pushing back hard enough, actually.