Marketing in the electronic components industry is complex – and to me it’s fascinating. The suppliers are commercially driven – engineers typically are not. And therein lies the marketing challenge. I hope this newsletter will bring you some new thinking.
Here’s a question for you—are you beating your competition, or just keeping up?
Ask yourself honestly: is your marketing approach driven by the need to outperform your competitors, or is it just checking the box? When you write your marketing plan, do you look closely at the competition’s efforts? Or maybe your marketing strategy is already dialed in and you’re thinking, “Why even ask?” If so, kudos! But let’s face it—the components space is ultra-competitive. Unless you’re in a very niche corner, you’re all targeting the same engineers, buyers, and decision-makers as your rivals. So, if you don’t have a differentiating edge, you risk being seen as a commodity.
Remember playing Stratego as a kid?
We didn’t play just to shuffle pieces around the board; we played to demolish our siblings! But how often is our marketing strategy focused on incremental wins instead of real market leadership? Maybe it’s time to go from “just moving around the board” to “crush ‘em.”
“But Our Product’s Already the Best!”
You’ve put everything into building a better product and staying ahead of the competition. So, is your marketing strategy for those new NPIs engineered to do better than the other guys too? If your customers can’t tell why your solution is superior, then all that great product dev work risks going to waste.
Maybe it’s time to get creative — even a little bold. Let your marketing match the effort and ingenuity of your product.
You Think You Can Do Better, Graham? Prove It.
Sure! Last month, we presented our strategy recommendations to a new client in Canada, benchmarking the marketing plan against four of their top competitors. A few hours later, I got a message from the CEO: “Hey Graham, is this based on “Playing to Win”?
I hadn’t read the book, but I did a quick ask to my AI friend, “Chad Jeopardy.” Here’s the gist: Playing to Win stresses “clear, focused choices on where to compete and how to win, with a five-step framework aligning daily actions with long-term goals.” (Thanks, ChatGPT!) It reinforced what we already know: winning requires a precise, relentless focus on competition and execution.
So, here’s My Blueprint for Competitor Annihilation:
If you really want to beat your rivals, here’s a starting point. We use these steps (and more) to help our clients come out on top:
- Content Audit – Dive into your competitors’ blogs, social media, and educational content. This reveals what’s on their minds and where they’re headed.
- Google Strategy & Ad Spend – Get an overview using tools like Semrush or Moz. A pro-level review can expose strategy gaps and opportunities.
- Domain Authority Score – This shows how Google sees you and your competitors. Use Semrush or Moz again.
- Marketing Tech Stack – Analyze their tools and platforms (use BuiltWith for these insights). Their stack reveals their capabilities—and potential weaknesses.
- Social Media Strategy – If they’re doubling down on LinkedIn for example, maybe they’re focused more on what’s free instead of what works. This could be your advantage.
Or (drum roll please)… you could just have Lectrix handle it for you instead. Contact our team to see if you qualify for a free competitive analysis.
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