Every now and then I rail against vendor FUD; especially in the Blogosphere, nobody especially listens and although there is sometimes a temporary lull, everyone soon goes back to their bad ways. So I thought I'd give an end-user's point of view and why it is a bad thing.
FUD is rarely backed-up with any kind of evidence; if you are going to criticise another vendor, you need to provide empirical evidence.
FUD often is couched in the terms 'it doesn't work'! Well, this is often plainly stupid; I find it hard to believe that any large vendor would ship a product which does not work! It may not meet all of it's claims but a plain 'it doesn't work'; that's madness!
If you are going to FUD product, you need to provide details and evidence. You should do it in a public forum and you should allow your competitors to respond. I don't mind competitive analysis and positioning of your product in the best possible light but please be willing to back up your statements.
Without such details, I simply treat it with the disdain it deserves!! I encourage all end-users to ask for details when presented with FUD. Ask for facts and figures; full disclosure and preferably not under NDA!
FUD is often based on old information; competitors very rarely have information on each other's latest and greatest, so you find yourself comparing to last year's model and often features that were missing are now present. Immediately this makes me doubt your presentation because it is wrong!
Assume that the people you are presenting to are better aware of your competitor's products than you are; they've probably had the NDA presentations and know the roadmaps. And never allow yourself to be drawn into an argument about whether a feature is or isn't present in a competitor's product; invariably, you are wrong!
FUD may be fun but it often damages you more than the intended target!
Amen!
š Your timing couldn’t be better, I just finished reading a doc from a competitor that says that CX4 runs on Microsoft Windows OS and that it was susceptible to virus attacks. The OS for CX is FLARE, which uses a small library developed by Microsoft. And no, no viruses on a CX4.
This company has spread this FUD since 2006… they know it is a lie and yet they continue to spread it.
BTW, some customers will actually buy into it. All too often we have to explain to customers that their “trusted advisors” of many years are not being truthful with them. Sad really…
Martin – thanks for adding customer perspective, and calling foul.
Vendor FUD is like clipping in football. It only happens when the player is out of position and already beat (and the player lacks sportsmanship).
As in football, it sometimes works if the referee’s (in this case, you as a proxy for all customers)aren’t looking. But mostly, it just calls attention to the loser, and penalizes his entire team.
Do you know how many times I’ve requested a customer to bring in any competitor and myself at the same time, same conference room, and talking factually about the products being offered? I’ve had several customers ask other vendors to participate, however, when push comes to shove, none will pony up to the table! (it might not help that I’m 6’3″ 240, but come on, not like I’m going to beat someone up because of FUD!)
So, is FUD based on fact still FUD?
I ask only because I pride myself in fact-based observations of competitive products that competitors insist is mere FUD.
One competitor even accused me of casting FUD even though he (eventually) admitted my claims were indeed factual! (I am Beyond naMing names, but the dual-drive failure assured data loss eXample Is ineVitable and true š
Maybe Fact-based Uncertainty and Doubt isn’t really FUD?
Barry, as long as it is backed with Fact and gives me something to challenge; I’m fine with it. But too often FUD is spread by sales-men who are unable to back their FUD up!
FUD is the final weapon of the desperate and weak.
The best way to sell a product is to educate the prospect on how your product works. Let them decide if your approach is better than the competitors. Telling them you are better, or your competitor doesn’t work, just insults their intelligence.
It’s shocking to me how much time the storage vendors spend attacking each other instead of listening to their customers. It seems like some of these guys never moved beyond Junior High.
Adorable butterfly on the “giggle” card! Have a wonderful week! ā„ā„ Kay