Disagree Agreeably in Your Blog

You’ve no doubt been exposed to the streaming TV ad for Vroom, in which a guy is strapped to a chair in the back of a car dealership. The dealer finally uses a pair of jumper cables to zap his victim back to reality, where he’s sitting on his front lawn watching Vroom deliver his new sedan.

Tempting as it is to knock your competition, there are some very good reasons not to do so, Cedric Voigt of Ballou PR writes:

• It makes the story all about them.
• It makes you look like a follower, not a leader.
• You are not objective, and your target audience isn’t stupid.

At Say It For You, we absolutely agree. Negatives against competitors are a basic no-no. Yes, , in writing for business, we want to clarify the ways we stand out from the competition.  But, to get the point across that readers should want to choose this business or this practice, or these products and services over those offered by the competition, it’s important to stay positive.

The People’s Pharmacy Q&A column in the Indianapolis Star the other day exemplifies taking a firm stance on a subject while acknowledging that there are other opinions. The reader had been diagnosed with “white coat syndrome”, because her blood pressure would dramatically increase in the presence of a doctor or nurse. Her question was this: “Do I really need to take drugs for high blood pressure when my pressure is high only in the doctor’s office?”

Pharmacists Joe and Teresa Graedon disagreed with the recommendation given the reader by her doctors. However, rather than “knocking” those doctors, the Graedons offered a three-part response:

1. Acknowledging that there are alternative approaches — “Doctors disagree about the need to treat white coat syndrome. Some think it signals reactivity to stress.” Because people are frazzled in many different circumstances, these physicians believe drug treatment is appropriate.”
2. Offering evidence backing up their own viewpoint — “An Italian study of early 1,200 elderly people with high blood pressure found that white coat hypertension raised the risk of a cardiovascular event slightly but not significantly.
3. Firmly restating their own view — “You could ask your doctor about reducing your medication. To prepare for that conversation, you may want to read our eGuide to Blood Pressure Solutions.”

When it comes to comparing yourself to others, accentuate both the reasoning behind, and the positives about, your way of doing things! Differentiate, don’t disparage.