Many people do not want to talk about their business competition, especially when it is in front of their prospects and customers.
Did you notice this during the presidential election? Sometimes the talking heads and surrogates could not utter the name Clinton or Trump, but instead would say “our opponent” as if uttering the name gave credit to the other person somehow.
But many believe it is a good thing to talk about the competition. For sure competition makes us better, sharper, edgier…ignore the competition at your own peril.
The marketing guru Seth Godin recently blogged on the topic and he comes down on the side of inclusion.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/11/plenty-of-room-on-the-island.html