Category creation is a viable business strategy adopted by big companies, like Google, Netflix, and Pixar. Are you bored and tired of implementing old marketing strategies? You can go bid with category creation or create your own market niche.
In this article, you’ll learn the important reasons why you should consider implementing category creation before starting a business. You’ll gain more awareness on how to boost your business opportunities with this innovative business strategy.
What Is Category Creation?
Category creation involves creating a totally new product or offering a new service. Most innovative marketing strategies for startups call for disruption, such as making a product more high-performing, stable, and efficient. However, when consumers are faced with a choice between an improved new product and that of an established industry leader, most of them will likely choose a company that has been around for years. Of course, some people will choose the cheapest product because of budget constraints.
The process of category creation should include proper planning, prototyping, and testing. With these steps, category creation is properly executed so you can achieve your business goals for your startup. Brainstorming with your team, getting fresh ideas, as well as interviewing customers can help you kickstart category creation.
1. First Winner Advantage
The first ones in the market are considered as pioneers, role models, and standard bases, which other companies want to replicate. That’s why successful startup businesses that offer unique, new products and services gain the “first winner advantage”. If your business is the first in your industry to offer a specific product or service, there’s a high chance that you’ll draw more customers and sales.
Category creation is one way of being first in the market race. It’s important to capitalize on the opportunities to create your market niche, turning them into long-term advantages. The success of a new product category creation depends on the innovation and market adoption pace in the industry.
Here are some ways to benefit from first winner advantage:
- Embrace Technologies: Ensure technological head start by understanding and finding new technologies that can make your business operations faster.
- Keep Innovating: Innovation can help you come up with new products and services to launch. One way to help you innovate is by embracing prototyping.
- Protect Your Brand: You should protect your brand by defending your position through exclusive partnerships and patents. If you believe that you’re the first discoverer or creator of a product or service, assert your intellectual property rights, copyrights, and other related certifications.
2. Category Creation Solves Unaddressed Problems
The key to a successful startup business is customer satisfaction, creating a domino effect by spreading the good news through word-of-mouth and social media comments, likes, and shares. On the other hand, there could be some unresolved problems hiding and waiting for proper resolution, and category creation could be the answer.
Think of category creation as a framework when building your company, wherein the product or service around your “bright idea” sets your solution apart from those of existing companies. It’s about feeling the pain of your target audience that sets your new product category apart from the rest.
Here are the following advantages when your business is able to discover and resolve unaddressed consumer problems:
- Improves customer experience
- Increases your trust rating
- Improves brand awareness
- Gains more referrals and prospects
- Generates more sales
3. Establish A Good Business Reputation
Category creation involves careful planning and research. It’s not as easy as it may seem because it involves repeated trial and error, testing the product every now and then until you achieve the best results. That’s why new products that are incredibly convenient to use, reliable, and efficient quickly gain popularity because of the excellent quality and remarkable benefits they provide to consumers.
Once you have created a new product with the above-mentioned good qualities, expect to establish a good business reputation even if yours is just a budding business. Even if you start with a small number of customers, making them happy and satisfied is a good score. Along with digital marketing strategies, your small startup business can easily penetrate the market, introducing a new product category that can possibly go viral.
Conclusion
Before you start your startup business, it’s advisable to consider category creation. The market is already flooded with similar products and services, and consumers might already be sick and tired of seeing and using the same things repeatedly. Category creation provides tons of benefits, such as the first winner advantage, resolving unaddressed problems, and helping establish a good business reputation.
