How to Win the Room Before Specs Even Matter
Years ago, my son had a differentiation problem. In elementary school, he stood out because he had something few kids did, globe-trotting stories. Show-and-tell was easy.
Then we moved.
New middle school, new context, and overnight his old “edge” disappeared because everyone had travel tales. He adapted, less talk about trips and started showing what classmates actually valued day-to-day, his goofy humor, kindness and quick wit. That’s what made him memorable again.
Product launches in the life science tools sector follow the same pattern. What set you apart in one context becomes table stakes in another. Competitors “catch-up”. If you want to win and keep winning, you need two things working together:
Differentiation:
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Distinctiveness:
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The practical value buyers feel in their workflow (not just your spec sheet), their future customer experience
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The consistent memory cues (assets, codes) that make you easy to notice, recall and re-choose across channels and over time
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Before we get too far, there are 3 terms that often get confused: positioning, differentiation and distinctiveness. Here's how to think about this...
- Positioning = the choice
The one-sentence decision about who you're for, the category you're in, the core promise, and the main alternative you're up against. It's your compass for everything else.
- Differentiation = the proof
The specific, perceivable ways your offer is better or easier than those alternatives for a buying group's real jobs. It's evidence you can demo, and measure today. It evolves as markets catch up.
- Distinctiveness = the memory
The consistent cues (visuals, tone, chart style, phrases) that make people recognize and recall you at a glance. It doesn't claim "better", it makes you findable and remembered.
Here are my experiences on how to design both differentiation and distinctiveness in pre-launch, prove both during launch and compound both after launch.
Pre-launch: design the value buyers will feel
This is one of the areas where voice of customer (VOC) is underutilized. Most tools companies do the homework on performance claims, but many under-invest in the story and the experience that make those claims land with a scientist, core-facility manager, and procurement, three success pictures. Earning the buyer's trust comes with understanding their jobs-to-be-done and connecting the dots to the data and the experience of using the product.
Two tips to include in your pre-launch strategy and tactics:
1. Competing choices your customer is weighing
Positioning the soon-to-be-launched product against alternatives, not just the head-to-head competitors, can be a clear way to show differentiation and that you understand the real-world pain points. The alternatives include: living with the problem (do nothing), outsourcing to a service provider or using the existing technology for one more year.
Create a short teaser video series with the proof on these topics:
- Why now?
- Where the old workflow leaks time
- Only we can ____ in under 30 minutes.
Think screen-share demos!
2. Evidence plan mapped to each role (interview 3 users from your beta-sites)
- Scientist: sensitivity on scarce samples, n= ___, CV% - show side-by-side plots vs incumbent tech
- Core manager: % uptime, training time, service terms, automation fit
- Procurement: total cost to result, payback period, warranty risk
Drop those visuals into an infographics template. You're not telling a story, you're showing one.
Remembering that the goal of pre-launch messaging is to drive awareness and sow some FOMO, this content should be field tested (yes, your Sales and Field Application teams should be involved) and then included on your website, and social media channels.
You've designed perceived value and built the first set of proof points. Now, put them in front of decision makers.
At launch: prove it in the market, fast
Launch windows can be noisy. The teams that break through aren't louder; they're clearer and faster at showing proof to the specific people who say yes. It's all about the right content at the right time in the right place.
Two tips to include in your launch strategy and tactics:
- Tune the message by role. A scientist, for example, cares about sensitivity on scarce samples while a core manager cares about uptime, training load and service agreements. Have a short "message ops" pack that pairs each role with its top proof visuals and the five most likely objections with evidence-based counters.
- Run a daily launch room. Watch the signals (content usage, pilot/demo outcomes, field notes) and adjust fast. Atlas can be helpful in assessing and scoring the content as well as helping with any pivots.
Remember that the first month buzz can fade quickly. Leveraging "word of mouth marketing" should be included in all plans from the beta-site stage onward.
After launch: compound the advantage others can't copy
This is where many launches miss their numbers: the launch team is disbanded but the market is still deciding. The mitigation is a simple, repeatable cadence built on three flywheels:
- Evidence flywheel: Plan a quarterly rhythm of application notes, posters and outcome stories mapped to your top two use cases. Make it easy for champions to cite and reuse your evidence in their internal decks.
- Distinctiveness flywheel: Every refresh, new whitepaper, new video, should reuse and strengthen the same memory cues. Measure your strongest assets for attention and uniqueness, retire the weak and keep teaching partners and distributors how to use the set correctly.
End of life your spec speak. Lead with value + proof + memory
Shifting from "feature superiority" to positioned value showing proof points + designed experience + branded memory assets is the change that more life science companies need to make.
Differentiation is the value buyers actually experience in their workflow. Distinctiveness is how they spot you when it counts.
Design both before launch, prove both during launch and keep compounding both after launch.
As for my son, he's grown, still traveling and still known for the same things that matter in any room: humor, kindness and quick wit. Last year a gelato maker in Florence nicknamed him "Moustache" (he has a Super Mario style moustache and hair) after a spectacular gelato making class. That stuck because it was a real moment, not a tagline.
Your market is the same.
Give them real moments to remember.
Schedule a 30-minute consultation to discuss how Atlas can help you assess your pre-launch and launch plans.
