?? Tinder vs Hinge

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?? Tinder vs Hinge

?? How we’re doing win-loss at Klue

??? New TCN releases: C&C Pod, Power Half-Hour

??? More news and jobs!

WHAT’S BREWING

Swipe Right on Differentiation: Tinder Vs. Hinge

Match Group, the $9.6 billion dating app giant, is facing pressure from investors to revitalize its flagship product, Tinder.

According to the Financial Times, Tinder has endured seven straight quarters of declining paying subscribers, prompting the app to reposition and explore new strategies – AI wingmen, anyone?

Meanwhile, the company’s sibling app Hinge is growing, highlighting a stark contrast in user engagement between the two platforms:

• Tinder’s daily active users have dropped 10% YoY, while Hinge’s grew by 17%
• Hinge’s YoY downloads rose 8% as of August, while Tinder’s fell 1%?

(source: Fortune)

The Bigger Story

Tinder CEO Bernard Kim has outlined a plan to transform the app into a “better product,” especially for women and Gen Z, marking a significant shift in strategy.?

This tension between Tinder and Hinge is largely driven by broader trends in the dating app space:

• The dating app market is cooling – especially amongst younger generations who say they are facing dating app burnout
• Users want apps that offer more meaningful connections, challenging Tinder’s hook-up-focused model.
• Tinder has evolved into a legacy brand and is struggling to adapt to changing user needs.

Why Should You Care?

This is becoming a fascinating study in product differentiation ??

Hinge, the app “designed to be deleted,” is winning over users seeking meaningful connections and steadily gaining market share, while Tinder is being forced to rebrand.

The challenge for Match Group (owner of both brands) is to breathe new life into Tinder without overshadowing Hinge’s growth.

Some questions we’re pondering:

• Can Tinder shed its “hookup” image without alienating its core users?
• How can Match Group ensure the two apps don’t eat into each other’s market share as they evolve?

The solutions, in our opinion, hinge on smart positioning and branding.

TODAY’S CUP OF WISDOM

How We’re Rolling Out Win-Loss at Klue

In case you haven’t heard, Hunter Sones, our new competitive intelligence manager, is rebuilding Klue’s win-loss program from the ground up.

And during last week’s pod, he walked us through his playbook.

Here are four things Hunter is doing right now to get win-loss off the ground at our org — feel free to steal ??

Tailored Readouts

Hunter is creating tailored win-loss readouts for our sales, product, and executive teams – each featuring distinct snippets from our win-loss interviews.?

• Product team gets unfiltered feedback on features and user experience
• Sales team receives competitor comparison information
• Executives get a strategic overview linking buyer feedback to company priorities

Video Highlight Reels:?

Hunter’s team creates short video compilations that feature win-loss interview snippets. He then plays these compilations during readouts so each team can hear directly from our customers. The value of bringing the customer’s voice into our meetings has been massive – seriously.?

Win-Loss Committee

Hunter’s in the process of launching a monthly cross-functional Win-Loss committee with leaders from product, sales, and marketing. Their goal? Transform buyer insights into concrete action items.?

Voice of the Buyer Board

Hunter’s latest project, built right into the Klue platform, is a comprehensive “Voice of the Buyer” board. Each deal gets its own card featuring:

• Deal specifics (rep, product, deal size)
• A 1-minute video highlight from the win-loss interview
• Key win/loss reasons and standout customer quotes
• Relevant Gong snippets showing how the deal was pitched?

Big Takeaway

Overall, this approach is all about injecting the customer’s voice directly into our strategic discussions. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s already stirring up conversations at the highest levels of our organization.?

LISTEN TO FULL EPISODE

FROM THE NETWORK

New Episodes: Coffee & Compete Podcast, Power Half-Hour

Coffee & Compete Podcast | The Company Disrupting B2B Marketing & Bringing Win-Loss Analysis to Executives

Last week, the C&C crew sat down to talk about Air’s disruptive marketing and discuss how to bring Win-Loss to your leadership team.

Power Half-Hour | The Five Questions You Need to Ask Your Buyer?

BLOG RECAP: Last week’s community session was so value-packed, we wrote a blog recapping our favorite insights.?

The Ultimate Battlecard Building Toolkit: Guide + 6 Fillable Templates

FREE RESOURCE: Arm your team with the six most important battlecard types. Nothing more, nothing less.

SIPS N' CLICKS

Other Compete News

ServiceNow outpaces Salesforce growth by 2X prompting Benioff to label rival as “Wienerschnitzel” in competitive jab.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. throws hat in ring with $4.3B bid for Paramount Global, challenging Skydance’s planned acquisition.

GitHub CEO advocates for AI industry competition, in a recent interview

Google faces pivotal antitrust trial next week, as DOJ aims to redraw ad tech’s competitive landscape

HIRING

Compete Jobs

Senior Product Manager @ Adobe

Enterprise Sales Enablement Manager @ Gong

Senior Product Marketing Manager @ Vanta

Senior Competitive Strategy Analyst @ Palo Alto Networks

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P.S. — all typos are intentional. It’s how we make sure your paying attention.?

?Stay caffeinated.

– Niko