If you have worked in marketing long enough, you probably have heard something along these lines before: “Don’t mention our competitors. Focus on our offering and value.”.

In the B2B space, Sales and Marketing people are trained and urged not to mention the competitors, unless the customer mentions them first. Rarely do you see company websites and other published marketing content that mention specific competitors and their products. Marketing teams usually keep these details to internal documents such as battlecards and competitive analysis material. Salespeople use this information to address prospects’ concerns and questions when they evaluate several vendors.

Recently there was a lot of buzz following Burger King’s ad urging people to buy from McDonald’s, and from other fast food chains as well. When B2C companies mention their competitors they usually mock them. But this one is different. It looks like a praise.

Nobody suspects that Burger King suddenly started to like their arch rivals. Yet, they still did it.

Does it make sense? Should B2B companies consider this option?

The answer to both questions is YES!

Here are three situations where praising your competitors can prove to be a smart move.

• When a crisis or a big threat is affecting the entire market. COVID-19 caused many people to work from home and stay at home much more than before. In many places restaurants are closed or only open for take-away or delivery. It means more people cook their own meals rather than buying them in food chains. To survive the storm food chains like Burger King first need change people’s mindset to return to buying meals outside – anywhere, even from competitors.

• When you market in a niche category. In the early 2000’s enterprise videoconferencing was a niche category in the telecom equipment market. This was before HD Video and Broadband Internet. The leading videoconferencing vendors such as Polycom, Tandberg and Radvision were selling to the early adopters. Back then Polycom’s CEO Bob Hagerty used to say that if prospects decide not to buy Polycom he prefers to see them buying from Tandberg or Radvision rather than not buying at all. In the long run growing the market size benefitted all the vendors.

• When there’s an elephant in the room. If you are competing against a dominant incumbent, rest assure your prospect will at least consider the incumbent’s offering. In these cases, choosing to ignore the competing market leader could prove too risky. Instead, you can praise the leader first for some of the good things they have done, and then steer the conversation towards the specific places where your company offers a better value.

In fact, praising your competitors is not only a viable option for Marketing. In his article Why you should compliment your competitors, Bob Burg explains why it is a smart move for Sales. It signals your prospect that you are confident, successful and safe.