Category design thinking isn’t just something that VC-backed companies with unicorn aspirations can use. When applied correctly, the category design lens can expand your addressable market and open up new revenue opportunities with existing customers. Really, we are talking about the development of what Christopher Lochhead calls a “breakthrough product or service.” And there’s no
Since category design is such a foundational business strategy, it will impact most areas of your company (if not every nook and cranny). So it’s natural to wonder if category design means you need to go through a rebrand. The answer is… it depends. In this post, I’ll share my approach to figuring out the
As a category designer, your Point-of-View (or POV) is a critical document for your category design strategy. If you’ve read Play Bigger (the original book on category design), you already know that will inform nearly every aspect of your category design process. When done right, it shows your customers (and your employees, investors, partners, the
If you read my last post, hopefully I convinced you why doing an internal category launch is such an important part of category design. But how do you do that? To show you how, I’ll break down the process we used at BombBomb, where I served as the VP of Marketing Strategy. First, here’s a quick refresher on why you need
Category design is warfare. You’re claiming new territory, and you need the means and the willpower to defend it. Indefinitely. With that in mind, have you considered if your team is ready for battle? In this post, I’m going to tell you why an internal category design launch is so important – and why skipping
One of the most common myths about category design (especially if you’re in software) goes like this: “Category design is what happens when the category name you created shows up on a research and review site like G2 or Gartner.” It makes sense why you might think this. After all, review sites and analyst resources
Category design might be a difficult to pull off, but learning about it doesn’t have to be such a challenge. While there are only a few books written about category design directly, there are plenty of resources that will help you develop the right mindset. Here are a few of my favorite resources that I
Category design is a business strategy that helps companies define the terms of competition in their favor. Here’s an easy way to think about it. Conventional business strategy focuses on capturing market share from competitors. Think about an army fighting its enemy over a piece of land. It’s a zero sum game where capturing more
Category design is often led by the CMO, with much of the work executed by the marketing team. That’s why category design often looks like a marketing discipline. But it’s actually a business discipline that the entire company needs to support. Why? If category design was a marketing play, it would only be about narrative
I often hear people talk about category design as a “marketing strategy.” It’s easy to see why. Marketing often spearheads category design. And it affects that department as much as any other. But category design is actually a whole-company exercise. As such, it’s a strategy that only your CEO can decide to pursue. If you’re
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