PMM Files # 155 - Five examples of how to differentiate

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Thanks for reading PMM Files. A newsletter where we share five cool product marketing examples we found last week.

This issue is all about the big D Word... Differentiation! Something every PMM team is thinking about today more than ever.

Let's get to it...

The "Solo PMM" secret to scaling competitive intel

You’re a Solo PMM. Outnumbered, overworked. Your battlecards are ancient. Stop being a manual web-scraper. Elevate your role with Steve. He’s your 24/7 AI research partner who monitors every move, sums up the changes, and updates your battlecards. Become the strategic force sales depends on.

→ See How Steve Scales Solo PMMs

Example #1 - Beehiiv Wins by Being Honest

Naming your competitor’s strengths?

That’s real positioning — not just chest-thumping about features.

In this beehiiv vs Kit comparison, they call out exactly who Kit serves well, then make a clear case for beehiiv’s sweet spot. No "we're for everyone" baloney, just clarity that helps buyers self-select.

The takeaway: Be honest about who should pick your competitor. It builds way more trust than pretending you’re the answer for everyone.

→ This comparison page has me buzzin'

Example #2 - Showing Your Differentiation in One Simple Image

Here’s a challenge: Try to show your differentiation in a simple diagram or infographic.

Like this example from Ecomflow. They use this visual on their site to help buyers understand the difference between them and traditional fulfillment.

The old way takes 60 Days... Ecomflow takes 10.

Not to mention the copy and general contrast between the two images, which are meant to make traditional fulfillment look super risky.

→ See the killer side by side

Example #3 - Differentiate on How You Run the Business

Buffer competes with Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and a long list of VC-backed social media tools. Instead of trying to out-feature them, they've chosen a different (or addiitonal) path — differentiating based on how they run their business.

Simon Heaton breaks down company financials and makes it clear, Buffer isn't the typical VC-backed startup who lets the will of their investors get in the way of delivering for customers and employees.

It's an interesting framing that helps Buffer stand out and creates an emotional connection that goes beyond product.

→ See how Buffer does profit sharing

Example #4 - Making The Case Against Claude

I've seen a bunch of these posts following the big product announcements from Claude recently. This time, Brad Jourdrie takes aim at defending his company, Conquest Planning.

I love how Brad acknowledges how big of a deal Claude's release was while also clearly explaining why it's not going to replace Conquest: auditability, consistency, and verifiable quality.

To put a cherry on it, he ends with a strong POV: "The wealth tech firms that win the next phase won't be the ones who deployed AI fastest. They'll be the ones who deployed it in a way their compliance teams, their regulators, and their clients can trust."

→ See Brad's full post

Example #5 - The "Better Together" Comparison Page

Not every competitor page needs to be a takedown. Sometimes the smarter play is a "better together" story.

Sybill does this well with their Gong comparison page. Instead of trying to convince teams to rip out Gong, they position around what they call "the Gong gap" and why Sybill is additive, not duplicative.

It's very smart positioning. By acknowledging what Gong is good at, they make their own differentiation sharper and remove the "We already have Gong" objection.

→ See Sybill's comparison page

The wrong way to use templates

“Fill them out.”

You get your hands on a new template, say for messaging, and you just start filling in all the blank spaces.

You follow it to a T, even when parts don’t make sense or serve your needs. It not only wastes your time, but you end up with a shitty end product.

My advice is this:

Use templates as a starting point, but make them your own.

I love it when PMMs take my templates or my playbooks and make them their own. They may tweak things, or they may take one thing they like and add it to something else entirely. That’s a sign they are forming their own opinion around how to do things right.

There is a problem though.

Templates and frameworks are EVERYWHERE. And there is a lot of junk.

You know what they say — garbage in, garbage out 🗑️

That's why I created the PMM Jackpack. It brings together all of the templates, frameworks, and examples that have shaped me as a product marketer, the people I coach, and the work I deliver for my clients.

It’s templates, playbooks, and examples that can give you the confidence to form your own opinions.

And if in the first 30 days, you come to the realization that my resources are ALSO junk, I'll give you your money back — no questions asked.

Click here to join the 500+ PMMs using the Jetpack

"As a two-time founding product marketer, I know what it's like to start from scratch. And, I know what it's like to invest hours into creating documentation and processes to only be left with desire for more.

That's why I love Jetpack. It gives me real ideas, real frameworks, real examples to elevate and inspire my own work. The launch playbook is a prime example."

- Emily Simon, Director of PMM at Apptegy

Founding PMM Jobs

I've started a simple job board, focused on curating new Founding PMM job opportunities.

Some highlights from this week:

Find More Founding PMM Jobs ↗️

3 More Things

Three articles, posts, or tools you should add to your swipe file.

How to Make Slides With Claude - Ruben Hassid breaks down how to build killer slides with Claude.
Turn CI Strategy Into Deals - Talya Heller shares a simple framework for turning your competitive intel into a one-pager your sales team will love.
Build Better B2B Landing Pages - Tas Bober shares a simple framework for deciding what actually belongs on your landing page — and what to cut.

What did you think of this week's edition?

Hit reply and let me know, or leave a quick testimonial. I'd love to hear from you!

See you next Wednesday!

P.S.

We work with startups and founding PMMs that are trying to build product marketing from zero. If that sounds like you, here are some ways we can help:

The Jetpack is a library of templates, playbooks, and examples.
The Foundry is a group coaching program for founding PMMs.
Want to sponsor our newsletter? Let's chat!

Jason and Aubrey
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