This is a terrific post - If liveninja doesn't work out Will should start an PR agency.
Note these points he manages to get across in a subtle way:
- We're disappointed that Google with all their resources couldn't make a better product. (Our product is superior)
- You made the exact same mistakes we made a year ago (we're a year ahead of you, and you don't know what you're doing)
- We're glad Google entered the scene and validated the market. (this is now a validated market niche, investors take note)
- We really hope for the sake of Googles customers that they'll stick around and not make this an experiment like buzz, wave, etc. (We're in it for the long haul, Google will shut down their service and leave you hanging if they don't see instant success)
- You're dealing with customers who need this tool and are willing to pay for it (Investors, did you read this?)
- I'll be visiting tomorrow because I won an award and the prize was a trip to Google. I'd be happy to have a conversation and help you out. (Why don't you buy my company instead)
Never does he condemn Google for stealing his idea, bullying or entering the space. He comes across as happy for the competition because he knows his product is better. (whether it is is another matter, I don't know)
This is a textbook example of how to deal with a large competitor entering your business niche.
Agreed. Also, Google's weakness that a startup can exploit is their almost non-existent Customer Service. Google wants to scale massively from day one, so manual, 1-on-1 support can never be part of the plan (unless they go meta and create a Helpouts for Helpouts, probable actually). If Google entered my space, I'd just up the customer hand-holding game and start posting testimonials about it.
I've had great experience with Google Apps customer service - the person on the phone took the time to understand my problem, went away while he worked on it, and a few hours later emailed me a detailed set of instructions for a workaround he found to my specific situation.
My 50 year old yoga instructor told me this morning that she needed me to help her set up Helpouts (after I introduced her to it yesterday). I'll ask her to get in touch with Google and post back how helpful she found them. She isn't totally up and up on tech things so this should be a good experiment.
Note these points he manages to get across in a subtle way:
- We're disappointed that Google with all their resources couldn't make a better product. (Our product is superior)
- You made the exact same mistakes we made a year ago (we're a year ahead of you, and you don't know what you're doing)
- We're glad Google entered the scene and validated the market. (this is now a validated market niche, investors take note)
- We really hope for the sake of Googles customers that they'll stick around and not make this an experiment like buzz, wave, etc. (We're in it for the long haul, Google will shut down their service and leave you hanging if they don't see instant success)
- You're dealing with customers who need this tool and are willing to pay for it (Investors, did you read this?)
- I'll be visiting tomorrow because I won an award and the prize was a trip to Google. I'd be happy to have a conversation and help you out. (Why don't you buy my company instead)
Never does he condemn Google for stealing his idea, bullying or entering the space. He comes across as happy for the competition because he knows his product is better. (whether it is is another matter, I don't know)
This is a textbook example of how to deal with a large competitor entering your business niche.