Sometimes the best option is to be smart not right.
I note in the press that Sage (~15,000 employees and over $1.8bn in revenues worldwide) is having a spat with Kashflow, a tiny company in the UK.
The reason for the spat is that Kashflow, which offers a SaaS based accounting offering to UK SME's has made some allegedly disparaging remarks about Sage. The facts of the complaint will undoubtedly be reviewed by the Trading Standards Authority and if necessary they will oblige Kashflow to retract or change the information.
I can't help feeling that the only beneficiary of this now public row is Kashflow, who seems to be receiving disproportionate coverage for the size of company. Sage has unwittingly given this minnow an equal platform and in so doing has vastly increased the market's awareness of their existence. PR like this they could not have dreamed of.
If I were a psychologist I might analyse the situation by surmising that Sage is feeling a little raw that their SaaS has been withdrawn and that Kashflow seems to have got it right - perhaps a case of wounded pride from the clear market leader.
Dealing with competition and upstarts sometimes requires muscle, but occasionally patience and the ability to ignore can be just as relevant as a strategy.
Sage – please take note!
All press is good press!
ReplyDeleteWe're certainly reaping the rewards of it in terms of exposure. Also does wonders for our credibility.
ReplyDeleteI'm very surprised at it all to be honest, I thought they'd have had the sense to just ignore us.
The ways it's now played out is just re-enforcing the perception of them (amongst SMEs and accountants) as bullies and is driving people to our door with credit card in hand.
Duane Jackson
KashFlow Founder and MD (or CEO to the non-Brits)
All press is indeed good; infamy is merely another sort of fame, surely? :)
ReplyDeleteMuscling in on competition works - unless they stand upto you - then you can end up with the old bully-in-the-playground syndrome..