“Don’t recommend other products”

Many businesses want to live in a world where their competitors don’t exist.

Which seems reasonable, since they’d rather their competitors not take a slice of their profits.

Where this gets them into trouble is when they act like their competitors actually don’t exist.

When a health brand completely ignores the value of consuming other essential products.

Or when a software company makes it more difficult to use their service in tandem with a similar one.

Forfeiting value and ease of use, merely to exclude the other guy, can often snub your end users just as much. Tarnishing your their loyalty to your brand in the process.