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Comparison Charts Don’t Work

December 27, 2012 By Chase Clemons 2 Comments

Comparison Chart

On occasion, I’ll get an email asking for a comparison of our app versus another one.

We don’t have one.

Why? Two reasons –

1) You can’t trust them.

2) You don’t need the distraction.

Trust

I could manipulate a chart to show any side favorable over the other. Long story short, the author gets to pick the features they want to compare. Most chart authors just pick the ones their product does well and ignore the others.

Marco Arment wrote a great post on false comparisons. Click on that link to go more in detail on that checklist dysfunction.

Distraction

Focusing on what the other guy does just distracts you from what you’re doing.

Does Bose worry about Sony?

Does LEGO worry about Mega Blok?

Of course not. Bose headphones are some of the best in the world. The sound quality is unmatched by anything Sony could produce. And have you ever tried to build something with a Mega Blok set? It’s a horrible experience.

Focus on being you. On building your app. Let the other ones try to mimic you while you stay true to what you want to create.

Do you have chart comparisons for your app?

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Comments

  1. Jason Sooter says

    December 30, 2012 at 4:07 am

    While I completely agree with staying focused on your product and not being concerned by gimmicks your competition may use to distract. I do find comparison chart to when i am new to a product. Obviously, marketing can water it down and distract/mislead but done well I find them useful for quickly figuring out what aspects are necessary and useful and what this product can do for me. Discerning what is different about 2 products or companies is something that happens no matter what if a person starts off with 0 associations to a company.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Chase Clemons says

      December 30, 2012 at 3:35 pm

      Definitely a good point. If the person putting it together is an outside observer, then a true comparison chart can help out. I used one when buying my wife a camera for Christmas a few years ago. The key is the outside viewpoint as you pointed out.

      Thanks for that point!

      Reply

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