How do you build a winning tech brand when you’re up against giants like Microsoft and Google? You don’t add more features. That’s one surprising takeaway from our conversation with Ross Mayfield, Head of Product for Workplace AI and Strategic Integrations at Zoom, on our Best Story Wins podcast.

With over 20 years of experience in collaboration software, Ross had a front-row seat to Zoom’s explosive growth from 10 million to 300 million users in just two months during the pandemic. And he attributes their success not just to the pandemic but to a different playbook altogether. According to Ross, the secret isn’t having more features or bigger marketing budgets. It’s delivering superior value and shifting the way you approach product and positioning. 

The Biggest Lessons from Zoom’s Marketing Playbook

We covered a lot of ground during our conversation, but Ross’ insights are highly relevant for any tech brand that wants to make a splash (no matter your valuation). If you want to emulate Zoom’s success, these are the key moves that helped them build a top-tier brand with staying power. 

1) Lead with value, not feature lists. 

“Part of Zoom’s success is it’s a great product at a low price,” Ross says. That’s not a brag about being the cheapest option. Zoom simply positions itself as offering superior quality at a more competitive price point, which creates a compelling value proposition that resonates with everyone from individual users all the way up to enterprise customers.

Many tech brands get a little feature-crazy in their product development and marketing, but remember that features aren’t the story of your brand. Buyers are evaluating the total experience of working with you versus alternatives. You need to highlight your true value (on both a functional and emotional level) to stand out. 

Tip: Build a clear value narrative that spans product quality, pricing, and total cost of ownership. Then make it easier for your audience to choose you by creating comparison content that shows the real-world value difference, not just feature differences. (An added bonus: Comparison content is often what LLMs are surfacing for buyers on the hunt. Getting ahead of this will put you on their radar quicker.)

2) Make quality your foundation, then build from there. 

Ross credits much of Zoom’s success to their CEO’s relentless focus on quality. “Eric Yuan has had an amazing focus on creating something that’s simple and just works,” Ross says. In this sense, Zoom doesn’t need to max out on features. Instead, it’s about ensuring that everything they build meets a high standard of reliability and user experience.

In Zoom’s case, this means that when you click to join a meeting, it works. When you’re on a call, the audio is clear. When you share your screen, it’s smooth. These fundamentals create the foundation for everything else they build. Ross notes that even when Zoom adds sophisticated features, they maintain the core principle that everything should “just work.”

Interestingly, this quality-first approach has become a competitive moat because it’s harder for larger companies to retrofit quality into complex, legacy systems. 

Tip: What is the core experience that defines quality in your category? If you can identify what that is and make it your non-negotiable standard, you can ensure you’ll preserve your core regardless of any other features or products you develop.

3) Compete where giants can’t.

 “We move at an incredible speed,” Ross says. This speed and agility lets Zoom respond to customer needs and market changes much faster than larger competitors.

For example, during the pandemic, this agility allowed Zoom to scale from 10 million to 300 million users while maintaining quality and making strategic decisions about pricing for sectors like education and healthcare. 

Large tech companies often struggle with this kind of rapid response because they have more bureaucracy, legacy systems, and competing priorities. But your agility can be a huge competitive advantage, especially if you have existing frameworks to help you make strategic decisions on the fly. 

Tip: Think about the areas where your size and structure give you advantages over larger competitors. Whether it’s faster decision-making, more personalized customer service, or the ability to adapt quickly to market changes, put these advantages front-and-center in your marketing and sales content.  

4) Expand your brand around your core values. 

We’ve seen plenty of brands hit explosive growth and then dilute their brand when they try to expand too quickly into too many areas. 

Zoom’s evolution from a single video conferencing tool to a full collaboration suite is a perfect example of how to expand without losing your core value proposition. As Ross notes, Zoom now offers Team Chat, Docs, Scheduler, and Whiteboard, which he says are “all very high-quality products, more performant in a lot of cases, and close—if not better—on features.”

The key here is that Zoom doesn’t just add products. They extend their value proposition across a broader suite, while keeping those core elements of quality and pricing at the forefront. This helps them reinforce their brand rather than water it down. 

How to Lead with Value

Zoom’s success is inspiring because it just proves, yet again, that knowing who you are as a brand (and making intentional decisions around that) can launch you to an entirely new level without a massive marketing spend. It’s ultimately about building and maintaining a consistent brand experience that users can depend on each and every time. If you’ve been struggling to do this effectively or consistently, here are a few steps to realign your strategy. 

• Get clear on your brand foundation. Use our brand strategy toolkit to document your values, mission, and unique value proposition to guide every strategic decision.
• Audit your competitive positioning. Are you leading with features or value? Our guide to competitive positioning can help you craft messaging that differentiates on what matters most.
• Create content that showcases your advantages. Whether it’s comparison guides, case studies, or thought leadership, learn how to turn your expertise into compelling content that builds trust with your audience.

Most importantly, keep up on best practices and strategic insights from marketing experts. To hear more tips and insights from Zoom’s success journey, listen to Ross Mayfield’s full episode on the Best Story Wins podcast (and subscribe for ongoing tips to win hearts, minds, and market share).